


Shadows of the Past

by Rini, Saklani



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-24
Updated: 2012-02-24
Packaged: 2017-10-31 16:56:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/346370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rini/pseuds/Rini, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saklani/pseuds/Saklani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Jensen Ackles was betrayed by his former partner and lover.  Ever since, he has driven away all his partners and been alone.  But new partner, Jared Padalecki, and the murder of a man tied to his past will force him to change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadows of the Past

Jared Padalecki strode along the darkened street, a step behind and to the left of his new partner, Jensen Ackles. He felt a little strange in his plainclothes, after wearing a uniform on his beat for the prior five years. The gun under his suit coat felt right, as did the badge digging every now and then into his side. These were symbols of events gone and done right, that he had broken into the ranks of the city's homicide detectives. And yeah, as lowest on the totem pole, he ended up partnered with one of the most notoriously difficult men to get along with, but it was worth it. Jared would make sure it was worth it. 

Ahead of them, a small knot of officers and CSI worked in organized chaos around a sprawled form. Jared frowned a little at the unnatural twist of several limbs. 

Jensen was acutely aware of the kid behind him; the green, newly minted detective he was expected to work with and train. He swore silently; the last thing he wanted was another partner. It'd been a long time since Jensen had relied on anyone, and he wasn't about to start now. But, he also knew how it shook down and that he had to suck it up and deal with it until he could get the kid to request a transfer or a new partner.

Approaching the scene, he flipped open his jacket to show his shield and then stepped under the tape. He grunted in recognition of the greeting called out to him by one of the officers. "Got an ID for the guy?" he asked, stooping down to take a look at the mangled body.

The medical examiner, a middle-aged, balding man by the name of McGrew looked up and grunted a greeting to the detectives. "No ID on him. Two bullets and multiple broken limbs. One bullet to the back of the left knee-" 

"To bring him down," Jared said.

"And the other to the head," McGrew finished. 

"To finish him off. Are the broken limbs pre- or post-mortem?" Jared asked.

"From the flow of blood, I'd say pre. But the autopsy will determine that."

Shooting a killing glare at Jared, Jensen stood and walked away. If his new partner was going to handle the body, he'd move on to the crowd of people taking pictures and seeing if he found something they missed. He pointed out a few things he wanted photos of, walked the perimeter of the crime scene and then back again to the body. "Can you tell what caused the broken bones?" he asked abruptly, watching the ME continue to look over the body.

Jared blinked once as Jensen stalked off and then shook his head. He offered a weak smile at the ME and then stood to stretch his limbs and look around, considering the way the scene must have played out. His body tensed as Jensen suddenly barked from right next to him. 

"Not definitively," McGrew said. "Something heavy I would say. Again, I'll know more after autopsy."

"To do something like that well the dude's still alive, that's pretty cold," Jared said to Jensen. "Either we have a killer who enjoys torture, or this guy was killed by someone or someones he knew who didn't like him much."

"Mob," Jensen said shortly. "Let's go," he said, turning abruptly. "Nothing more for us here until we get the information."

"Shouldn't we canvas the area to see if anyone heard or saw anything?" Jared asked. "I mean, if it's the mob, it's a longshot, but there's always a chance." He frowned down at the body. 

Jensen rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Fine, you organize the uniforms over there and start knocking on doors." He turned away and head toward the nearest business. "I'll start over here."

Jared nodded and jogged over to talk to some of the uniforms to see what they could fine. He glanced over his shoulder at his partner and shook his head. The man was going to be a challenge. Squaring his shoulders, Jared determined to be equal to it and set off with one of the officers to knock on doors.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared strolled over to Jensen's desk and said, "The ME called. He's got an ID on our body from last week. And some other stuff." 

"Did he tell you?" Jensen asked brusquely, eyes never leaving the file on his desk.

"No, he wants to see us," Jared said with a tilt of his head. "Time to pull on all the lovely gear and go to the autopsy room."

Jensen wrinkled his nose slightly and closed the file. He took time to clear his desk, organizing things the way he liked without saying a word to Jared. Finally, he stood, pushed in his chair and turned to lead the way out of the squad room and toward the parking lot, since the morgue was located in the next precinct over. 

"Oh joy," Jared murmured and trailed after his partner, waving at a few fellow detectives. He headed toward Jensen's car, staying a foot behind his partner. "I turned in the paperwork on Mrs. Parker's murder today. Glad to have that done."

"Good," Jensen acknowledged. He didn't look left or righr or see the detectives Jared waved at. His mind focused only on how he'd be able to work the current murder and keep Jared out of his way.

Jared grinned and shook his head, opening the passenger door and climbing in. He winced at how tightly his legs fit in the cramped car. "You know this is our month anniversary."

Jensen blinked, turned and stared at Jared and then started the car without a word. _Month anniversary_ , he thought. _Who remembers that kind of crap?_ "Did the ME say anything?" he asked.

"Nope, just that he had IDed the guy and had some other information," Jared said. "I've lasted longer than your last two partners, plus the three prior to the one before them."

"Yup," Jensen agreed, marveling at it internally. He'd figured Jared would have given up already. 

"You're not so bad," Jared said and leaned back with a grin. "Just a bit snarky."

Jensen couldn't help the snort of laughter. It was the first time anyone, since his dead ex-partner, had ever called him _not so bad_. "You haven't seen me in the field much yet," Jensen offered and then turned up the radio to listen to NPR.

"Oh sweet, Talk of the Nation. I love this show," Jared said and listened with a huge, happy grin.

Blinking, Jensen bit off a curse. Jared was the first partner to approve of his radio choices, and Jensen had to cross that off the list of possible things to annoy, piss of or otherwise alienate Jared with.

"You listen to Fresh Air, too?" Jared asked. "They always have cool guests."

"Every day," Jensen said, grudgingly. He turned it up slightly, trying to distract Jared. 

Jared took the hint and listened happily until they reached the next precinct. With a grin, he bounded out of the car and stretched, grateful for the room to do so. "So, you have any idea who our body might be?"

Jensen shook his head, taking his time to climb out of the car, shut the door and lock it up tight. He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled toward the front door of the large building looming over them. 

Jared followed after Jensen with a relaxed air, greeting people on the way with grins, backslaps, handshakes and in one case, a hug. He grinned even as he pulled on the scrubs, mask and goggles necessary to enter the autopsy room. "You ready?" he asked, turning toward Jensen.

Jensen had taken the time Jared had been fooling around to quickly and efficiently suit up and make himself ready. "Whenever you're done joking around."

"May never be ready then," Jared said with a wink and strolled into the autopsy room, greeting Dr. McGrew, who uncharacteristically welcomed Jared with warmth.

Jensen rolled his eyes and strolled in briskly. "McGrew," he greeted in his usual manner. "What do you have for us?"

"Ackles," McGrew grunted back. "I have an identity for you." He handed over a folder. "Got it from his fingerprints. You might recognize the name of some of his fellows."

Taking the file, Jensen scanned the information and then flipped it shut before Jared could see. "Interesting," was all Jensen said. "What do you have to show me?" he asked, moving toward the body on the table.

"Wait a minute," Jared said and glanced at McGrew. "What fellows?"

McGrew grinned and nodded. "Seems Mr. Mosquin here was involved with Mitchell Bachmann."

"Mitchell Bachmann," Jared muttered and then frowned. "He's huge, into everything. Haven't you tangled with him before, Jensen?" 

Jensen ground his teeth together, but didn't comment on McGrew's sharing of the information with Jared. Instead, he moved toward the body and started to work his way around the table. It was much less gruesome than at the murder scene, and Jensen was itching to sort out what had happened. "I have," he said quietly. "What do you have on the body?"

McGrew walked over to the body, grabbed a couple of x-rays lying on a neighboring table and put them on the x-ray light box to show. "You can see the way these ribs were fractured. Messy and with extreme force. Repeated kicks might have caused this. With a steel-toed boot. There was scraps of the victim's clothes in the wounds, as well as some dirt."

Jensen nodded. "Deliberate, cruel," he said. 

"And angry," Jared said. "With this much anger behind it, there has to be some word on the street as to what he did that brought Bachmann down on his head."

"Good possibility of that," Jensen agreed. "Nothing else found in or on the body?" he asked the ME.

"Not much that helps. He had old injuries that were healed, including another bullet wound. Not a user." McGrew shrugged and shook his head. "There was some trace stuff I sent to the lab."

Jensen nodded. "You'll let us know what the trace turns out to be? Even if it doesn't seem significant?"

"Told the lab guys to give you a call," McGrew said with a jaunty grin at Jared.

Jared nodded and said, "Thanks. We appreciate the help."

Jensen looked between the two and then headed for the door. His mind was already moving with the possibilities he could investigate and the couple of contacts he had from the previous case that might help him out.

Jared shook his head at his partner and trotted after him. "So, you want me to start digging into our vic?"

"Not necessary," Jensen said, pushing his way out of the morgue and chewing at his lower lip while he thought of where he wanted to look next and what he could have Jared doing to keep him out of his hair.

"Not necessary?" Jared asked. "What does that even mean? We need to find out what this guy did that pissed off Bachmann so much."

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Go ahead and waste your time if you want," he said. "I've got a file on him and his known associates."

"Which will tell us who to ask, not what he knew," Jared said, still walking a step behind his partner. "I may be new to homicide, but I'm not a fool."

"Like I said, go ahead and waste your time on it," Jensen said, with a snarky grin, before he opened the car door and climbed in. 

"And what will you be not wasting your time on?" Jared asked with a slight quirk to his mouth in response, good humor renewing instantly.

"Why don't you check with the lab techs," Jensen said on a sigh. "We need to know what they have."

Jared bit his lower lip and chewed it. "Fine, but I want to be in on whatever you’re planning to do. We're partners, Jensen, whether you want to be or not."

Jensen nodded. "Yeah, of course," he said.

Jared frowned, not really believing his partner, but changed the subject. "Want to tell me your history with Bachmann?"

"Not particularly," Jensen said with a sigh. "He was connected to another case I worked on. It was a long, undercover op that ended with a lot of men dead on both sides. Including my then partner."

"Oh, that was your-" Jared cut himself off and looked guilty. "That must have sucked."

Jensen nodded abruptly and pulled out of the parking lot. He didn't say anything further, but drove them back to their own precinct and parked the car. "Talk to the lab, and I'll see you back in the office later."

"Jensen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything," Jared said. "I'll check in with the lab. Don't uh- don't do anything stupid."

Arching an eyebrow at Jared, Jensen turned back to look out the windshield. The comments didn't hurt anymorem and Jensen knew Jared didn't mean anything by it, but it a reminder of his own failings.

"We'll make this work," Jared said. "Even if you don't want to."

Jensen sighed. "Talk to the lab."

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Jared hopped out of the stopped car and looked into the window at Jensen. "I meant it, don't do anything stupid."

"If you're around long enough, you'll figure out I'm monumentally stupid," Jensen said, before backing the car out of the parking spot and heading off to hunt down his best connection to the Bachmann mob.

Jared jerked back to avoid having his feet run over and watched Jensen drive off, mouth pulled down. "Fuck, that bastard is going to get himself killed." He shook his head and chuckled. "And me."  
~~~~~~~~~

Ken Burnham raced down Georgina Alley, splashing through murky puddles and assorted garbage without notice. His breath tore in his lungs, straining against the years of smoking to catch air, as he sprinted to get away from the mad man pursuing him. Five years ago, he'd dealt with Jensen Ackles on a playing field all in Ken’s favor and not come away well. He really didn’t want to face him when all the cards belonged to Ackles. 

Jensen ran after Ken, dodging puddles and gaining ground on the other man with every step. He kept his eyes peeled for other dangers, but figured with the way the man was running from him, he didn't have any associates lying in wait. When Ken took a right, Jensen grinned evilly to himself, knowing that he'd just turned himself into a dead end.

Ken wiped out trying to stop before he ran smack into a recently-erected chain link fence. Cursing, he tried to scramble up it, lack of grace making him flail uselessly.

Jensen reached the fence and grabbed onto Ken with both hands - one gripping his jacket and the other clamping onto his shoulder. He forced the other man to the ground and then turned him against the fence to hold him in place. "Hi, Ken, long time no see."

Ken swallowed hard and looked up into Jensen's hard face. "Hey, uh, Detective Ackles... what ya going around chasing me down for?"

"I'm chasing you because a known associate of yours was found brutally beaten to death," Jensen said with a fierce look. "And I think you might know why or who did it.

"I didn't have anything to do with that!" Ken bleated, a trickle of sweat running down his face. 

Jensen grinned widely and glared at Ken. "And I think you did, or at least, know who did.” 

"Please! If the boys knew I was talking to you, they'd kill me!" Ken begged. "I tell you I know nothing about it!"

Jensen moved his hand from Ken's shoulder to his chest and slid it closer to his throat. "I think you need to tell me who these ‘boys’ are."

Ken swallowed hard and shook his head in denial. "Just talk, man. Said he got in wrong with the big boss. Blabbed something big to someone he shouldn't have."

"Who?" Jensen asked, leaning in on Ken. "Who did he tell?"

"I don't know!" Ken said, eyes huge. "The boss wanted him dead, and some of the guys, they took care of it. Real quiet like, except that everyone was told how he died. A lesson, you know?"

Jensen arched an eyebrow. "I think you know or you have an idea who killed him, Ken. Tell me. Don't make me do this the hard way with you.”

Ken gritted his teeth, eyes rolling in fear. "I tell ya, they were all secretive about who did the job. Just that it was done."

Jensen let go of Ken's jacket and brought his arm back. He punched Ken in the stomach and then hauled him back up with the hand on his chest. "I'm getting tired of being lied to, Ken. Tell me who killed your buddy and who he was talking to before you get seriously hurt."

Ken gasped for breath, tears streaming from his eyes and arms wrapped around his stomach. He shook his head rapidly, not wanting to give up anything.

"C'mon, Ken," Jensen cajoled, "I know you know more than you're telling me. You always know more.”

Ken groaned and said, "You know they'll kill me. Like they did him."

"Part and parcel of the men you run with," Jensen said. "If you want, I can arrest you on something, get you locked up for awhile."

"Right," Ken muttered, "cause prison is so safe for a snitch." He cradled his stomach with one arm.

"Safer than having to report back to Bachmann," Jensen said. "Besides, we can keep you in lock down for a bit. You know I can swing that."

Ken wheezed a few moments and then sniffed once. "Might at least make it worth my while."

Jensen rolled his eyes. "And what would make it worth your while? More than you life, that is."

"Hundred bucks?" Ken asked, peeking up at Jensen.

"Fifty bucks and some time locked up to keep you out of Bachmann's sight," Jensen offered.

Ken nodded and said, "Don't know a lot, Detective Ackles, honest. But Davey, you know Davey, he got a little drunk the other night and uh, he let spill that he may have had a hand in the killing."

"Just a hand in the killing? Not a hand in whatever it was that led to the killing?" Jensen asked.

"He just did what the boss told him," Ken said. "He had no beef against the man himself."

"Good, now give me something we can book you on," Jensen said, pulling Ken off the fence and marching him back down the alley toward his car.

Ken sighed and said, "I can always just sit in the joint a few days on charges that you drop later."

"That good enough for you?" Jensen asked, tugging him along.

Ken shook his head. "Not good enough." He tugged as hard as he could to turn himself around and punched Jensen in the face.

Jensen groaned and shook out his jaw. "Fuck," he said, curling his hand around his face and slamming Ken into the car.

"Now you can arrest me for assaulting an officer," Ken said with satisfaction. "My lawyer can bail me out all square."

"You enjoyed that," Jensen said, slapping his cuffs on Ken's wrists. "You'll sit in jail awhile for that one."

"Damn right I enjoyed it," Ken said. "I'd pound your face in if I could."

Jensen shoved Ken in the backseat. "Don't count on that," he said before slamming the door and climbing behind the wheel.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared took one look at Jensen, as his partner finally returned to the squad room, and said, "I like your makeup, but you might want to go easier on the eyeshadow."

Jensen dropped into his seat and flopped back in his seat. "Just spent more time than I wanted having to book a perp for assault of a police officer. Tell me you actually got something from the lab techs."

"Mine for yours," Jared said with lifted eyebrows. "Cause I'm not buying that you just walked outside and got yourself punched." He shot Jensen a mischievous look. "Although..."

Jensen arched his eyebrow. "Punched in pursuit of a suspect," he said, shrugging. 

"Nope, not enough," Jared said, tugging the folder of information he had closer to himself.

"What more do you want?" Jensen asked.

"Details, my dear partner, which is what you want, too," Jared said, waving the folder around. "How did you happen to run into a fist?"

Jensen huffed. "I didn't run into a fist. Ken and I... well, we know each other from previous cases. And, as he so happily told me, he'd get great pleasure in beating my ass to the ground if he could. But all he got off was one punch." He rubbed lightly at his jaw.

"And did he have anything of any use to add to the case?" Jared pressed.

"Nope, nothing he was willing to talk about, though I think he knows something," Jensen said. "A couple of days to cool his heels and maybe he'll be more cooperative."

"Hmm," Jared said, not really convinced and determined to see the man himself. "So, the lab guys found some interesting trace evidence. Seems our guy had spent some time with a woman in the recent past. There was evidence of lipstick, as well as hair and nylon stocking fibers, on his clothes. Also, some distinctive perfume, called Hot Fires." 

"Huh," Jensen said, making a note in his notepad. "Seems our boy may have had someone to confide in. Can I see the report?"

"Not done yet," Jared said. "There was some strange dirt embedded in his left knee, some sort of mixture of sand and granite. They're trying to track down where it came from." 

"Okay, well, you want to keep on them?" Jensen asked. "Otherwise, it's about time to call it a night."

"Sure, I'll do that," Jared said and flashed a smile at Jensen. "Want to grab some dinner?"

Jensen wanted to say no, knew he should say no, but still didn't really know if Jared would do anything without him, so he nodded. "Yeah, let's get Mexican."

"Fuck yeah," Jared enthused. "Tres Hermanas down the road has the best authentic food I have tasted since leaving Texas."

"You're from Texas?" Jensen asked, surprised.

"Y'all know it, cowboy," Jared drawled. "I even got my western boots and hat at home to wear when I'm not playing detective."

Jensen blinked. "Huh, who knew," he said, standing up and pushing in his chair. "Tres Hermanas it is."

"Your accent still peeks out now and then," Jared said. "A little trace of home in this crazy city."

"It does?" Jensen said, even more surprised. "Thought all traces of that were long gone." He rubbed at his chin and smiled sheepishly. 

"To someone who knows what to listen for," Jared said, enjoying the smile, one of the first ones he had seen on Jensen.

Jensen nodded and then grabbed his coat, leading them back down to his car. "How long you been in LA?"

"Coming on five years now," Jared said. "I was a policeman back in Texas for a bit, but there's nothing fun about being a gay policeman there."

Blinking at Jared, Jensen shook his head slightly and opened the car door. "Yeah, I can't imagine that was fun at all."

"No, not at all," Jared said. "My boyfriend of the time, Link, he hated all my time on the job, too."

"Being a cop isn't easy on any relationships," Jensen agreed, climbing into the car and wondering what the hell was possessing Jared to open up to him. 

Jared hopped into the car and grinned at Jensen. "Yeah, like a pox. I've been thinking another cop is the way to go."

Jensen didn't respond to the comment, just buckled himself in and started the car. He didn't know how much Jared knew, how much about his life was till gossip fodder, but he knew that another cop wasn't exactly the way to go either.

"Somebody else with a crazy schedule," Jared said. "A medic or fireman would work, too."

"Scheduling is only half the battle," Jensen said, pulling out of the parking lot and heading down the street. He drove the several blocks and parked around the corner from the restaurant.

"Sure, but if you understand, really understand what you're getting into, that makes a difference," Jared said. "Other people can give it lip service, but they don't really understand until it's too late."

Jensen shrugged, still not believing that knowing what you're getting into - or thinking you do - made much difference. He opened the car door and climbed out without saying a thing.

Jared sighed and climbed out after him. He took a deep breath of the odors wafting from the door. "I already know what I want."

"You do?" Jensen asked.

"I love their tortas," Jared said. "One of their meat ones are enough even for my appetite."

"Huh," Jensen said, opening the door and leading the way to the hostess. He smiled at Tina and spoke to her in rapid Spanish, asking for his usual booth.

Jared snorted and said, "Showoff." He greeted her in Spanish as well.

Jensen turned to look at Jared. "What?" he asked, following Tina through the maze of tables.

"That was a pretty turn of Spanish," Jared said. "Just drips off your tongue like honey."

"Took it in school and learned real quick when I started out here that the more Spanish you know, the easier it is to catch a lot of criminals," Jensen said with a shrug. He didn't add that he took class after class and made a point of befriending the Spanish families in his apartment building years ago.

"This is a good place to know Spanish," Jared agreed. "It helps me feel more at home here, too. Los Angeles is a long way from the tiny town I grew up in."

Jensen snorted, slid into the booth and grabbed a menu. He busied himself looking at it, though he knew what he planned to order. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in a conversation with Jared, but he knew that keeping Jared busy was better than leaving him to dig into the case on his own.

"You make very expressive noises with your nose," Jared said, amusement lacing his voice. "You could totally win an Oscar for the ability to communicate by snort."

Looking up, Jensen arched another eyebrow at Jared before going back to his menu. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?" he asked drily

"Nope," Jared said. "Everyone loves me. Your perp may be somebody who doesn't, but we'll see."

Jensen shook his head and folded his menu up. He knew what he wanted, but didn't have a clue what to say to Jared.

Jared grinned as a huge mountain of tortilla chips and two salsas were placed on the table. He dug right in and said, "I have been called impossible, however. You might as well give in and start working with me."

"You are impossible," Jensen said, starting in on the tortilla chips a lot more slowly.

"Yep," Jared said contentedly. "And you're stuck with me, Jensen Ackles." He munched a huge handful of chips.

Jensen grumbled and put a small handful of the chips on his plate. He scooped up large amounts of the fiery salsa, but didn't say a word to his partner. When the waitress appeared, Jensen smiled at her and ordered a beer and his meal in.

Jared ordered as well, though he chose a Coke instead of beer. He had plans to return to the squad room tonight and talk to Jensen's perp. "I'm also lovable."

"Whatever you say," Jensen agreed, frowning to himself over Jared's drink choice.

"Bet you could be loveable, too," Jared said. "Guy as hot as you are must attract both men and women like honey."

Jensen choked on his beer. "Excuse me?" he asked, not entirely certain that he had heard Jared correctly.

Jared tipped his head to the side and said, "Not doing anything more than stating the obvious."

"Yeah, not sure our definitions of obvious are the same," Jensen said with a shake of his head. "I don't attract anyone."

"You turn heads everywhere," Jared said. "Noticed that the first day we worked together."

Jensen blinked in surprise. He didn't turn heads at all, that he'd ever noticed, at any rate. "Where? Who?" 

Jared chuckled and shook his head. "For a detective, you are completely oblivious sometimes. Just keep an eye out."

"Yeah, sure," Jensen said with a shake of his head. He smiled when their waitress walked up with their meals, thanking her and then tucking into his dinner.

"You should also smile more," Jared said and began to snarf down his food.

Jensen ate, doing his best to ignore Jared and his unsolicited opinions and advice. It wasn't easy and left Jensen feeling slightly off-kilter through most of the meal.

Jared polished off his giant dish with a contented sigh and burp combination. With a last swallow of his drink, he stood and tossed some money on the table. "Thanks for sharing dinner with me, partner."

"Yeah sure," Jensen said with a half-smile. "You walking back?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's a nice night. Got a few more things I want to do before I go home," Jared said with a flash of his perfect smile.

Jensen shrugged. "Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow," he said, settling back into his seat and continuing to eat his dinner.

"Good night...partner," Jared said and winked at him, before strolling toward the door and then hurrying back to the squad room. 

Jensen shook his head at Jared's retreat and thought nothing more of it. He was glad to have the other guy out of his hair for the night.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared leaned further back in his chair, reading the file on David Agar with a slight frown. His pushing Ken had paid off and easier than expected. A few growls and some flexing of not unimpressive muscle, and Ken was practically peeing himself. Might have helped that he implied Jensen was close by, too. He grinned at the idea of his impossible partner and flipped to the next page of the impressive rap sheet. 

Jensen strolled into the squad room, all but whistling to himself. He pulled up short when he spotted Jared sitting in his seat and going over a file. Jared hadn't made it into the office before Jensen yet, and he narrowed his eyes at the other man, more than a little suspicious at the change of schedule.

Jared felt eyes on him and lowered the folder to beam at his partner. "Hi there, Jen. How are y'all this morning?"

"Fine. What're you doing in so early?" Jensen asked.

"Just looking up the guy we're going to pick up and question," Jared said and flashed Jensen the folder.

"Oh, who's that?" Jensen asked, not catching the name on the file.

"David Agar, otherwise known as Davey. He's a got a rap sheet as long as may arm," Jared said.

Jensen cursed softly. "How did you find out about him?"

"I'm not a detective for nothing, Jensen. And I got the feeling yesterday that you weren't exactly being forthcoming with me," Jared said. "So I went and talked to the perp who slugged you." 

"Damn it," Jensen said, dropping into his chair. "Fucking Ken."

"No, fucking you," Jared said, voice mild. "This isn't your case, it's our case. You should have told me everything." 

Jensen stared hard at Jared. "It's connected to an old case of mine, deeply connected."

"Then we'll solve it together, for you," Jared said. "You can trust me, Jensen."

"And you can trust me when I tell you that you want no part of this, Jared," Jensen said, opening a case file on his desk and doing his best to figure out how to get his partner off the scent.

"Explain it to me," Jared said. "Cause I'm your partner, and I stick with you no matter."

Jensen shook his head and closed the file before standing up. He grabbed his jacket and turned to leave the squad room. He knew where Davey hung out, and it'd take Jared much longer to get that information.

Jared leaped up with a little growl. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business, Jared," Jensen said. "Why don't you step up the heat on the other case we caught last week."

Jared grabbed Jensen's right arm. "It is my business. We're supposed to work together."

"And our efforts are best split between the case load we have," Jensen countered, fighting every instinct he had to yank his arm out of Jared's grasp.

"Jensen, please," Jared said. "Don't do this. Don't run off without me."

Jensen pulled his arm out of Jared's grip. "Look, I'm asking you to not follow me. Let me do this, Padalecki. I know what we're dealing with in a way you couldn't possibly hope to know.” 

Jared stared into Jensen's eyes and finally stepped back with a sigh. "Call me if you need help. I want to be your partner, Jensen."

"I will," Jensen said, trying to put as much conviction in his voice as possible, though he had no real intention of doing so. "I wasn't kidding about the other case. It could use some attention."

Jared scowled at Jensen and shook his head. "Don't patronize me, man."

Jensen sighed. "I wasn't," he said. "It'd just save me having to work overtime later. If you want to be a partner, that'd help." 

Jared watched Jensen walk away and sighed, shoulders slumping. He returned to his desk and pulled out the file on another case, finishing up some paperwork as quickly as possible and trying not to wonder what his stupid partner was getting himself into.  
~~~~~~~~~~

David Agar rubbed blood from off his face and stared up at Jensen with anger and fear. His head spun from numerous punches, and his body refused to heed his attempts to rise. "Fuck you, Ackles," he cursed, spitting saliva and blood to the floor.

"Sorry, Davey, I prefer my men with fewer bruises on them," Jensen said. "And now I need some information from you," he said, pressing down with his foot to keep Davey pinned to the ground.

"I don't care what you need," Davey snarled and tried to wiggle away.

Jensen growled and leaned heavier on Davey's shoulders. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But see, I can make your life an even worse hell if you don't help me out."

Davey bit down on a yowl of pain as Jensen leaned into a bruise. “Fuck! What the fuck you want!?"

"I want to know why Tony Mosquin got himself killed," Jensen said, easing up only slightly.

"He was a fucking fool," Davey bit out. "Told stories out of turn."

Jensen took a deep breath and smiled. "Yeah? What kind of stories?"

"Don't know," Davey said. "Just that he had something on the boss and went and blabbed."

"Who did he blab to?" Jensen asked, shifting again.

Davey shrieked as Jensen ground some broken ribs together. "I don't know! Some chick he was with!"

"The chick got a name?" Jensen asked, moving off the wound but keeping Davey pinned.

Davey shook his head. "No, man. We're looking for her."

Jensen grinned, knowing that was the information he was looking for. "And who is the we?"

"You know who," Davey griped, voice breaking into a whine.

"I want to hear you say it," Jensen said. "It'll do nobody any good if I don't get it right."

"What the fuck are you on about, man?" Davey snapped. "Not like it's gonna do you any good."

"Tell me who," Jensen said slowly, enunciating each and every word.

"Bachmann!" Davey yelled. "Who the fuck else? What does it matter?"

Jensen grinned and then knelt back, flipping Davey onto his stomach and pulling both arms behind his back. He clasped the handcuffs around Davey's wrists and then flopped to the side for a deep breath. "Thank you, that's all I needed," Jensen said.

"I will fucking sue you for this man," Davey said. "Police brutality."

"Yeah, you'll have to prove that one. And considering I'm booking you for assault on an officer, you’re going to have a real hard time," Jensen said.

"Fuck you, man!" Davey said. "You had no reason to fucking come after me!"

Jensen laughed. "I had every reason in the world to come after you, Davey. Every reason in the world."  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jensen hauled Davey into the squad room and pushed him into the chair at his desk. He pulled out a packet of the paperwork necessary to book the guy and started in on the cramped boxes.

Davey howled a protest and demanded a doctor, swearing all kinds of lawsuits.

Jared glanced up as Jensen came in with another beat up perp. He scowled and looked back down at his work. His hands shook a little, as he tried to concentrate on his writing.

"Oh shut up, Davey," Jensen said, scowling. "You can sue me for all I'm worth _after_ I book you for assaulting me." He looked over at Jared and then quickly down at his paperwork again. The forms were done in record time, and Jensen signaled for a uniform to haul Davey away.

Jared watched as Davey was lead away and then stood to walk over to his partner. He dropped a set of folders by him. "Sign these."

Jensen picked up the first one and started to leaf through them. "What are they?" he asked, flipping open to the signature line.

"What you ordered me to do," Jared said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Great," Jensen said, signing each of the folder as Jared asked and handing them back.

"Yeah, great," Jared said bitterly. "You came back good as new, I see. Do I get to know anything about what's going on now or am I still unworthy?"

Jensen blinked and frowned up at Jared. "What're you talking about?"

"Seriously, that's the answer you're giving me?" Jared said. "Fuck you, man." He shook his head and walked back toward his desk, resigned to having to scare it out of yet another man Jensen had beaten up.

Frowning harder, Jensen stared with confusion at Jared. He wasn't at all sure why Jared was acting like an injured animal, but Jensen just shook his head and went back to completing the paperwork on Davey. 

Jared shut his eyes and counted backward from fifty. He was nearly shaking with anger, but cooled off slowly as he finished count. He hated the way his partner completely dismissed his abilities and his trustworthiness, but was determined not to fail his first chance at detective. Still, Jensen's attitude was wearing down even Jared's cheerful outlook. Opening his eyes, he picked up the files from the lab and began to read their breakdown of the soil from Mosquin’s shoes and clothes and where it might have come from.

Once he'd finished up the last of his paperwork, Jensen closed up his files and sat back. He took a look around the room, got up for yet another mug of coffee and then wandered to Jared's desk. "What're you going over?" he asked curiously.

"Lab results on our murder vic," Jared said, forcing down the urge to hide the information from Jensen.

"Did they get back the additional results?" Jensen asked, sipping at his coffee and perching on Jared's desk.

"They analyzed the soil from his clothes and shoes. Turns out, he was going somewhere off 57th Street, which is about the only place you can pick up all the weird crap he was carrying around." Jared tapped his fingers against the desk. "There's a strip club on 57th."

Jensen arched an eyebrow and smiled. "So there is...you familiar with it?" He attempted to tease Jared.

Jared snorted and said, "Very. I've broken up a lot of fights and arrested a lot of drunks there. Bet that's where the girl with the cheap lipstick and perfume came from." 

"Right," Jensen said, pushing off the desk and draining his coffee in two large sips. "Shall we go check it out?"

Jared nearly swallowed his tongue in surprise, but stood right after Jensen. "So, did you learn who we're looking for when we get there?"

Jensen shook his head. "Nope, just some girl."   
"Well, a strip club is a good place to find lots of such girls," Jared said. "Someone there will know. All the girls know me anyway.”

"Let's go check it out, then," Jensen said, putting his mug on his desk and grabbing his keys.

"After you," Jared said and followed his partner out the door.  
~~~~~~~~~~

ared climbed out of the car and groaned a little at the sight of the all too familiar Perky Pony strip club. He shook himself out and headed for the door, standing tall and putting on his serious expression. 

Jensen climbed out of the car and smirked. It'd been a long time since he'd visited the Pony, but he remembered it well. He wondered idly if any of his girls he knew were still there.

Jared winced at the stench of cheap alcohol, sex and desperation as he opened the door. He stepped into the mostly darkened room, eyes scanning the somewhat thin crowd on a Wednesday night. Glancing up, he shook his head a little at the sight of Candy Mandy, otherwise known as Sarah Planck, twirling around a pole, huge breasts jiggling in time with the raucous beat of bad music.

Giving the girl on a stage only a cursory once over, Jensen scanned the rest of the room. He looked for anyone he knew had connections with Bachmann (or Ken and Davey) and came up empty, but he wasn't surprised this is where their vic chose to spend a lot of time.

"The girls will know who was dating our vic," Jared said. He headed for the back and the crappy dressing rooms.

Jensen followed behind Jared, eyes on the crowd while they walked. 

Jared knocked on the door, probably the only person to bother to do so and walked right in. A dozen half-dressed girls looked up and several of them squealed, "Jay!" He ended up with three bare-breasted and one pantless hug and then grinned. "Hey, girls. How's it going? This is my new partner, Jensen." He jerked a thumb in his direction.

Watching Jared with barely concealed amusement, Jensen nodded to the room. "Ladies," he said with a real smile. 

They cooed a greeting and then a tall brunette said in a nasal tone, "Why ya back here, Jay? Thought you were done with the beat." 

"My partner and I are looking for a murderer," Jared said and grinned as the girls got excited.

"How can we help, sugar?" a busty blonde asked Jensen, fluttering fake eyelashes at him.

"Well, we're looking for a blonde lady who happened to get mixed up with a bad guy," Jensen said, smiling right at her and pulling out a photo of their guy. "You recognize him? Know who he was seen around with?"

She took the finger in her long, well-manicured nails and said, "Hey, this is that jerk Natalie's going with, isn't it?" She passed it to a perky brunette on her left.

"Oh hey, yeah, that's the one who was always bringing like flowers and stuff," she nearly screeched.

"And where is Natalie?" Jensen asked with a smile, letting the ladies pass the photo around.

The girls looked at each other, worry on a few faces, and annoyance on many more. "She hasn't been here for about a week. Went out with him the way she always did, but never came back," the perky brunette said.

Jensen cursed softly and looked over at Jared. "Anyone know where she lived? Or, where she usually hung out?"

"She lived in a crappy apartment house on 23rd Street," the blonde said. "The boss called her a couple of times. She was like a big draw. Cause she had like class." 

"Thank you," Jensen said, pulling out enough business cards to hand to each girl. "Please call us if you think of anything else or if you hear from her."

"Were they real close?" Jared asked. "Like, serious?"

"Yeah," a girl standing near him said. "She thought he was her ticket out of here."

Jensen nodded, sad. It was likely that Bachmann already knew about her and that the only ticket she'd gotten was a fast-forward out of life.

"If she didn't go home, is there anywhere else she might have gone?" Jared asked, gently pushing out of the grip of one of the pushiest girls.

The girls looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"You're certain?" Jensen asked.

Jared smiled at the sound of concern in his partner's voice.

"Yeah," the perky brunette said. "She never mentioned another place."

"How about her full address?" Jared asked.

There was a bunch of muttering, and then a small chorus chimed, "Number 12 at 110 23rd Street."

Jensen took down the address, writing it in his notebook and then sliding the book in his pocket. "Please be sure to send her our way if she does show up."

"All right, sugar, we will," the blonde said. "Do come back and see us sometime." She winked at Jensen and flaunted her assets.

"Oh darling, much as I appreciate your beauty, my tastes are elsewhere," Jensen said with a grin and a wink.

The blonde glanced at Jared and said, "Yeah, you got good taste."

Jensen laughed along with her, not disabusing her of the notion if it kept her from propositioning him again.

Jared frowned at them and shook his head. "Come on, partner," he said.

"Has he always been such a sourpuss?" Jensen asked them with a wink, before turning and leading Jared out of the dressing room.

"Not until I met you," Jared called toward his back and gave out a last few hugs to some of the girls, before falling a step behind his partner. "So, what makes you worried about this girl?"

Jensen sighed. "I know Bachmann," he said, leaving off the _personally_. "I know what he's capable of and if he killed his own guy and thinks she knows something...she's probably already dead."

"Do you think she knows something?" Jared asked. "Something important?"

"Even if she doesn't, Bachmann thinks she does," Jensen said, evading a direct answer. "We need to find her."

Jared frowned and said, "You and Bachmann. There's something there."

Jensen nodded shortly, giving Jared that much. "We've crossed paths on a case in the past."

"Something important," Jared said and sighed at the sign that Jensen still did not trust him.

"Aren't all cases important?" Jensen countered, shrugging and tensing up when Jared wouldn't let it go. "Should we hit up her place and see if we can find anything?"

Jared sighed and said, "Sure. Nice to see I'm still allowed along."

Jensen headed out the front door and back to the car.

"You know even a bit of consistency would be nice," Jared said. "You freeze me out of so much, but aren't getting angry about my being along today. I wasn't even allowed with you on your last adventure."

"There's some stuff that I don't want you along for, but like you said you're an asset in other places," Jensen said with a shrug.

Jared bit back a world of angry responses and tried not to let Jensen's casual indifference hurt so damn much. Since joining the force, he had built up a lot of walls against the pain and suffering he saw on a daily basis. But he'd always been lucky in his partners, never having a lack of support and comradery, if not friendship. Jensen's attitude left him out in the cold, fighting to do a good job in a position he was brand new to, not only without help, but with a headwind. He slammed the door to the passenger side so hard the car shook. 

"Uh try not to break the car, please," Jensen said through his teeth. "Acquisitions frowns on replacing them." He started the engine and headed into traffic to find the address they were looking for.

"Up yours," Jared said casually and turned up the radio to listen to the World on NPR.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared flopped down on the creaky old bench seat at a saggy table of a cheap diner with a tired sigh. He did not bother with the menu, knowing exactly what places like this featured. He pulled out his notepad and flipped it open. "Whoever went through her place certainly wasn't subtle about it." 

"Not remotely," Jensen agreed, flipping open the menu and scanning it. He smiled at their waitress, ordered an entire pot of coffee and a roast beef sandwich with horseradish dressing, extra cheese and a large pile of french fries.

Jared ordered a chicken salad sandwich on sourdough with potato salad and a Coke. "Look liked she'd packed and gone before Bachmann's men broke in," he said. "A lot of her clothes looked to be missing."

Jensen nodded. "Yeah, I think they'd have left her for dead if they'd found her there. So that means we've got a missing person on top everything else."

"Do we want to publicize that we're looking for her?" Jared asked. "It might bring her too much attention from the wrong people, where ever she may be. I take it we'll start with her relatives and friends, although I'm sure Bachmann has already beaten us to that."

"Yeah, let's keep it off the radar best as we can," Jensen said. "We're going to need to really dig into her world. Think the girls at the Pony might know more if we actually chatted with them outside the club?" He moaned at the first sip of coffee when their waitress dropped off his cup and a carafe.

"If they really believe that we can protect her," Jared said. "They didn't seem nervous or upset about anything when we were there, though. If Bachmann's men thought they knew, they'd have already terrorized them all."

Jensen nodded. "Which makes me think that she never went back to work. So either our vic told her to go to ground or she knew enough to get out of there."

"And she knew soon enough to have time to pack her bags," Jared said. "I put in a call to pull her LUDs and check into her credit card charges. Maybe we'll catch a break."

"Here's hoping," Jensen said, both glad for Jared's intelligence and hoping that he can head off the information before his partner got hold of it.

"Of course, if she has, Bachmann can probably track her that way as well." Jared pursed his lips and considered the problem. "If you were a stripper, probably without a ton of resources, who knew something that important about a mob boss, where would you go?"

Jensen thought about it and shrugged. "Home maybe, and she's might have a lot of cash. Strippers generally live on their cash tips. She could also probably hock stuff the vic gave her for more cash if she needed to." He bit at his lower lip and smiled distractedly at the waitress when she put their food in front of them.

"I think she'd avoid home, if she knew someone was after her. But how about somewhere she always wanted to go?" Jared asked. "We could ask the girls if there was someplace she talked a lot about visiting, especially if she'd never been there before."

"I meant home like family, but yeah...some trip she'd always wanted is possible," Jensen agreed, taking a huge bite of his sandwich followed by a handful of fries. "Maybe check into the vic and see if he'd been planning a trip anywhere."

"Yeah, sorry, I meant that, too," Jared said. "Might not have much family anyway. A lot of them don't."

Jensen nodded. "That's true enough. What do you think we should do next?"

"You're asking me?' Jared asked and then smiled. "We need to go back to the girls and find out if they knew Natalie's secret dreams."

"Yeah, probably best to go after the evening’s over," Jensen said with a look at his watch. It was far, far too early.

"Yeah, right after they close. Although a few of them will have tricks," Jared said. "Time to chase down her family, if she has one."

Jensen nodded and took another huge bite of his sandwich. "Yeah, that'll take longer too."

"Should be a lot of time on the phone and digging through her background," Jared said. He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly. "You know I'm going to go talk to the guy you brought in today, right?"

Sighing, Jensen nodded. "Yeah, I kinda figured you would since you went to the other guy." He sucked down some coffee.

"So, why try to keep me out?" Jared asked. "You know I'm not going to let you."

"Because it's not your fight," Jensen said, dropping his sandwich and shaking his head.

"I'm your partner, and that makes this my fight," Jared said.

Jensen closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not your fight."

"Please tell me why it's not," Jared said. "And make it good."

Opening his eyes, Jensen looked fiercely at Jared. "It's not your fight," he grit out. "And I don't have to justify that to you."

Jared reared back in his seat, eyes flashing, and said, "You're trying to get rid of me, too. Just like you got rid of your last partners. But I've got a lot more to lose than they did."

"Not one of them lost a damn thing, Jared," Jensen said. "Every one of them moved on to a promotion, so don't give me that shit."

"Yeah, but they were all established detectives, and I'm a rookie. I've got nothing to fall back on when you screw me over," Jared snapped. He shook his head and pushed aside his food. "What the fuck am I even doing here?" 

"You know what? I don't know. I have no idea why you're here, why you care about this," Jensen said in frustration, standing up and leaving the remains of his dinner on the table. He tossed cash on the table, as well as the keys to the car, and walked out of the diner.

Jared called after him, "Because I'm your partner. And I'm not going to stop working on this! Asshole." He sighed and thunked face first down on the table.   
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared grunted as a fist smashed into his right cheek, followed by a solid blow to his stomach. He wheezed and spit blood on the concrete, angry at himself, his partner and the bastards beating him up for the whole fucked up situation. Obviously, he was not the only one who thought a somewhat distant cousin of Natalie's living in a tiny backwater might be a good place for her to hide. And without a partner to back him up, he was out here alone when Bachmann's men arrived as well. And five-to-one was not a number he could master, no matter his size and fighting skill. 

Jensen looked at the notes again, not entirely surprised (though admittedly, a little surprised) that Jared had managed to track down a cousin that no one else had spotted. Not even Jensen. And, in his thoughts, if not to Jared's face, Jensen could admit that Jared had outclassed him on this one. With the address back in his mind, Jensen turned and parked his car. He climbed out and made sure to check his gun and shove it in the holster.

After closing the car up, Jensen started up the street watching the numbers and looking for the apartment building Natalie's cousin had registered as her last address. When he drew close to an alley, he heard the sounds of a scuffle. Unsure what he would find, Jensen cursed softly, drew his weapon and proceeded carefully down the dark area.

Jared could barely even groan when the next few blows fell on his face and stomach, having no breath left in his lungs. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and he could feel his eyes swelling shut.

Turning the corner, Jensen quickly assessed the situation with a soft curse. Five thugs beating someone. Not the odds he liked, even with his weapon already drawn and ready. Jensen took a steady breath and edged toward them as silently as possible, waiting until he was close enough to grab one of the men and knock him out with the butt of his gun. "Freeze," Jensen called, gun in the air and aimed at the guy closest to him.

Jared hit the ground with a sick grunt, barely able to acknowledge what sounded like Jensen coming to his aid.

"Fuck," one of the thugs said. "Ackles. I shoulda known you'd be around to shit things up."

"Can always count on me, Marko," Jensen said with a growl, moving in and wrapping his arm around the neck of the nearest guy and putting his gun to his head. "Back away from him, slow and easy."

The other three thugs left Jared in a huddle on the ground, watching Jensen with cold eyes. 

"What ya gonna do, pig?" Marko sneered. "Shoot us all?"

Jared forced himself to his side, dragged himself a few feet and grabbed his gun off the pavement where it had fallen. He held it on Bachmann's men, forcing his hand to remain still.

Jensen smiled meanly. "If I have to, I'll pick you off one by one."

The three standing thugs glanced at each other and then all began running in different directions.

Sighing, Jensen tucked his gun away and grabbed the cuffs off his belt to slap them on the guy he was holding. "Padalecki? You got a set of cuffs on you?" he asked, moving the guy to sit on the ground against the fence.

Jared lowered his gun and carefully pulled a pair of cuffs out of his pocket. He tossed them weakly in Jensen's direction and began struggling to sit up. 

"Stay there," Jensen said, grabbing the second set of cuffs and locking them around the goon on his stomach before turning and eyeing Jared. "How badly are you hurt?"

Jared spit out more blood, still struggling to breathe. He shook his head to indicate he wasn't sure, fearing the kicks might have done serious damage.

"Well, fuck," Jensen said, moving to Jared's side and crouching down. "Okay, can you hold your gun on the knocked out one? I'll get this other guy into the car and come back around for you."

Jared choked on a laugh and muttered, "Sure, I'll be fine," voice hoarse with blood and grit. "Think you might get some help for me, maybe?"

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Gonna take you to the hospital, but we need to get these two in the car first." He grabbed the still conscious perp and hauled him to his feet, hurrying him away. He shoved him in the back seat and buckled him in with his arms cuffed uncomfortably behind his back.

Jared watched the unconscious man, holding himself up by the fiercest application of energy and will. He licked blood off his lips and took each breath slow and careful, hating the feel of something inside grinding.

A short time later, Jensen pulled the car up alongside Jared and jumped out. He opened the back seat and hoisted the second perp inside, buckling (with a lot more work) him in the same way he had the other guy before turning back to Jared. Jensen approached him and took the gun, tucking it away on himself and looking at Jared critically. "Where does it hurt the worst?" he asked.

"Breathing," Jared said, letting his body slump. "Kicked me in the stomach pretty good, too." 

"Okay," Jensen said, biting his lip for a second. "This is going to hurt man." Crouching down, Jensen helped Jared get mostly upright and then reached out to wrap his arms around Jared's chest and did his best to get his partner back up on his feet.

A pained cry ripped from Jared, and he ended up putting nearly all his weight on Jensen. "Fuck. Oh, fuck." He gasped even harder for air. 

"C'mon man, sorry. God, sorry," Jensen murmured, doing his best to not bounce Jared while he held him in place and gave him time to get his feet mostly under him.

Clutching an arm around his stomach, Jared nodded once at Jensen and said, "Yeah, all right. To the car." He shuffled his way toward the front seat.

Jensen did his best to keep Jared steady and then helped him to lower into the front seat. He winced to see Jared trying to settle into the car with potential lung and likely rib injuries.

Jared leaned against the door and shut his eyes against the pain. "Thank you," he murmured. "Need to drop them off first."

"No, I'm going to take you in first," Jensen said. "They're fine where they are." He looked into the backseat with a scowl and then eased them away from the curb, cursing at the way the road jostled Jared.

Jared nodded weakly and breathed through his nose for a few moments. "She's not here," he murmured. "Found that out before they caught up with me. Her cousin had no idea." He slumped further into the door. "Another fucking dead end."

Jensen grumbled at the dead end, but stole a look at Jared. "Good to know...glad you found that out." He bit his lip and took a right turn at a snail's pace so as not to make Jared slide in his seat.

"Are you?" Jared asked with a slightly bitter laugh, followed by a nasty cough.

"Well, I wished you wouldn't have gone on your own and got hurt, but the information is good to have," Jensen said. 

"Wish I hadn't gotten hurt either. Didn't have much choice about going alone," Jared wheezed. He struggled to remain in a mostly upright position.

Jensen nodded and paid attention to the road, turning them gently into the ER section of the closest hospital. He parked where it said "no parking" and climbed out of the car to help Jared to his feet.

Jared nearly fell on Jensen when the door opened, but managed to stagger out on his feet. He leaned against his partner heavily, as they moved through the doors. "Wheelchair," he gasped, in too much pain to care about his pride.

Jensen called out for a wheelchair, helping to get Jared settled into it. He spoke rapidly with the nurse, sent the guard at the door out to watch his car and then stepped back to call in the situation so that someone could be sent over to collect the guys from the back of his car.

Jared mentioned quietly to the nurse that his partner could come back with him, as he had no family he wanted to call in. He then shut his eyes and gave himself over to the touches of the doctors and nurses and the blissful escape from pain they soon offered.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared emerged slowly from a drug and pain-induced sleep and blinked up at blank, sterile ceiling. Gritting his teeth as memories flooded back, he shifted a little and made a noise of surprise at the sight of Jensen huddled in a chair nearby. "Jensen?" 

"Jared," Jensen said quietly. "Hey, how're you feeling? Need me to get a nurse?" he asked.

"Water," Jared croaked. "No nurse. Thank you." 

Jensen nodded and grabbed a cup, filled it with water from the pitcher that'd been left behind and then held it for Jared to drink. "Be careful," he said. "You some cracked ribs."

"Feels much better," Jared said. "Thank you." He sipped at the water, grateful for the cool, refreshing liquid down his throat. "How long was I out?" 

"Almost thirty-six hours," Jensen said. "I think they were helping keep you under for a bit. They were worried that your lungs were punctured."

"Five to one, man, it was pretty brutal," Jared said. "I was lucky I didn't end up dead." He paused and looked at Jensen for a long moment. "Thank you."

Jensen nodded, blushing slightly. "You're welcome. I'm just glad that I found your notes about the cousin and headed out when I did."

Jared fidgeted and then sighed a little. "Jensen, do we have to go on like this?"

"No, but this is exactly why I didn't want you involved," Jensen said softly. "These guys are ruthless, and I don't want you caught in the crossfire. You've got a promising career ahead of you, Jared."

"It's the chance we all take as cops, especially in homicide," Jared said. "I want to help you solve this. You don't have to tell me your reasons for pushing so hard or anything. Just let me be your partner."

Jensen took a deep breath and nodded sharply. "You won't pry any more?"

"Pry anymore," Jared muttered through his teeth. He took a raspy breath, grateful for the pain meds still running through him. "I never pried. I just wanted to be treated like a partner and solve this case with you."

Jensen shook his head. "There's shit there that'll get you killed and I didn't want another death on my conscience."

Jared turned to offer Jensen a wan smile. "I've got your back, if you've got mine."

"Yeah," Jensen nodded once. "You have to get your ass back out of this place, though, and that might take a few days."

"Wait for me to be well?" Jared asked. "Don't want you getting your ass killed, either."

Jensen nodded, though if something broke he'd go after it. He wasn't about to admit that to Jared yet.

"So what will you tell me about the case?" Jared asked. "Or Bachmann?"

"Bachmann's got dirty cops in his pocket," Jensen said. "A lot of them at last count. Because of it, he's been almost impossible to get at. I'm one of the few people who ever got close."

"Well, that's why he hates you anyway," Jared said. "I'm not a dirty cop. You know that.”

Jensen nodded. "Yeah, I knew you weren't from the start. You need any meds?"

"Not more than I have right now. You willing to help me get out of here?" Jared asked. 

"Nope, not a chance tonight," Jensen said with a shake of his head. "They want you for observation, and I'm not helping you back out of that."

"Where will you be?" Jared asked. "While I'm here?"

Jensen sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I have to finish the paperwork on those goons we grabbed. They should be started at least by the time I get back to the station."

"Have the paperwork sent here," Jared said. "Stay here."

"You want me to stay?" Jensen asked, more than a little surprised.

"Yes," Jared said. "I think we're safer together. And I want to talk to you."

"Okay, give me ten," Jensen said, pushing to his feet and stepping into the hall. He made several calls to get the paperwork sent over to him with their files before going to look for the nurse and make sure Jared wasn't due for any more meds.   
Jared waited impatiently for Jensen's return and grinned when he came in with a pretty nurse. After reassuring her several times that he did not need any more meds, he turned with a goofy grin at Jensen. "You're fussing over me."

Jensen rolled his eyes and dropped into his chair. "Drug him up good," he teased the nurse.

"I'm not the one with any secrets," Jared said with a snort. "No need to make me dopey."

Jensen shrugged at the nurse. "If he doesn't want them, who am I to push the pain relief on him."

"Actually, feel pretty good right now," Jared said. "I'll ring if I need something. Thank you." He dimpled at her and then turned those same dimples on his partner.

Jensen shook his head and tried to scowl at Jared, but it didn't quite work.

"Nope, that really doesn't scare me anymore. You look like a big pooch, trying to convince me that you're a scary wolf," Jared said with deep satisfaction.

"Don't make me regret this," Jensen said on a sigh. "You said you wanted to talk."

"Oh, c'mon, I'm not that bad. We can be friends, as well as partners, if you give me a chance," Jared said.

Jensen arched an eyebrow. "I'll reserve judgment," he said, unable to hide a slight smile. "So talk."

"So, Natalie's not with a relative, and the leads from the girls didn't pan out," Jared said. "So, how about something Mosquin set up for them? A rendezvous for them to celebrate...celebrate what?"

"Could be an anniversary or a big pay off he was expecting," Jensen said with a shrug. 

"Could he have been so stupid as to try and blackmail Bachmann with whatever it was he knew?" Jared wondered.

Jensen hummed a bit and then nodded. "Yeah, that's a possibility. I mean...most of these guys aren’t very smart." 

"Would have explained Bachmann’s violent reaction," Jared said. He bit his lower lip as he considered it. "Would anybody know where our vic might have gone to celebrate?"

"Not sure...the guys we have in custody might. Or the girls might know where Natalie liked to celebrate," Jensen said. 

"And who would think to look somewhere he'd go?" Jared asked. "It's kind of genius. We should check his accounts and see if he booked a trip anywhere."

Jensen nodded, making some notes in his ever present notebook. "It's a pretty good way of hiding in plain sight."

"Hope Bachmann doesn't think of it, too," Jared said. "I'm tired of being a step behind everyone."

"Well, we took out a number of his men," Jensen said. "That, if nothing else, will slow him down. The others aren't going to report in right away, and I told the booking guys to hold the ones who beat you to be held as long as possible before finalizing."

"The rest of their lives out to suffice," Jared said. He shut his eyes briefly and then said, "I became a cop because I wanted to protect people. I couldn't even protect myself."

Jensen closed his notebook and settled back in his chair, looking at Jared. "There were five of them, Jay."

"And just me," Jared said softly. "Until my partner finally had my back."

"You can't expect to come out on top of those odds," Jensen continued. "If I hadn't had the element or surprise, I'd have had to call for back-up."

"That's what having each other's back means. Including calling for help," Jared said. He turned to catch his gaze, hazel eyes intent to green. "Partners?"

Jensen nodded, sharp and brief, before smirking. "Not like I can shake you anyway."

Jared's eyes narrowed, mouth pulling into a slightly unhappy line. "Jerk," he said.

Tipping his head back, Jensen let out a bellow of a laugh and then smiled at Jared, the corners of his eyes crinkled.

"That's right, laugh at the injured man," Jared said without rancor, natural smile appearing instantly.

"Gotta get them in somehow," Jensen said.

"You should laugh more often," Jared agreed. "I'm good for laughs. And other things."

Jensen shook his head at Jared with more fondness than he'd ever thought himself capable of. "You’re definitely good to laugh at," he teased.

Jared mock glared at Jensen and said dryly, "Well, it's nice to have one's talents recognized."

"I can recognize talent if and when I see it," Jensen said with another chuckle and a shake of his head. 

Jared snorted and leaned back into the pillows with a tired sigh. "Where you from, Ackles?"

"Richardson, outside Dallas," Jensen said. " You?"

"San Antonio, partner," Jared drawled. "Could tell you're a cowboy from your bowlegs. Spent a long time riding?" He made it sound dirty.

Jensen arched an eyebrow and then had to laugh. "Grandpa had a farm. I grew up on horseback."

"Lucky. Closest we ever got to horses was when we went to the fair," Jared said with a sigh. "Probably woulda killed myself if I tried to ride, though."

"You do have a habit of falling over things," Jensen teased again.

"I'm going to fall on you like a ton of bricks," Jared warned.

Jensen laughed. "You have to get out of the bed first."

"That's my current mission," Jared said. "But as soon as I'm better, first thing I'm doing is treating you to a Padalecki hug and then dinner. A real dinner, without fighting."

"Dinner sounds good...not too sure about the hug thing," Jensen said with an arched eyebrow.

"My hugs are legendary, and you look like a good hug would do you a world of good," Jared said. "In fact, come here."

Jensen blinked and stared at Jared. "How about we save the hugs for when your ribs are healed?"

"Come on, Jen," Jared said with a little whine. "Don't be such a baby. Get over here."

Rolling his eyes, Jensen pushed himself out of his chair and crossed cautiously to Jared's side. He didn't really want to hug or get a hug from Jared, but he didn't want to listen to his partner whine either.

Jared wrapped an arm around Jensen and pulled him close, before enclosing him in the other arm. Despite a bit of protest from his body, he kept his partner tucked firm against his chest.

Jensen flailed slightly in the hug, before cautiously curling his arms around Jared's upper shoulders and holding him gently.

"It's been a long time since you've been hugged, hasn't it?" Jared asked and pressed his face into Jensen's hair, inhaling his scent.

"I guess," Jensen said trying to relax into Jared.

"Easy, Jensen," Jared murmured to him, as he would to a spooked horse. "Please."

Jensen let out a breath, wrapped his arms further around Jared and squeezed back, though still more gently than he would normally hug someone. 

"Better," Jared said and released him with a beaming smile. "We'll get you back in the habit eventually."

"Yeah, okay," Jensen said with an odd half-smile before collapsing back into his seat. "You sure you don't need anything?"

"You to promise you won't make a move on this case until I'm up and about again. At least, nothing outside the office." Jared fixed Jensen with his best pleading stare.

Jensen nodded. "Yeah, already told you that," he said. 

"I just want to be sure," Jared said. "I don't need anything else... well, maybe something to read. I don't suppose you could grab me a few books?"

"Sure, give me a list?" Jensen asked, settling back into his chair.

"How about the keys to my house, and you can grab what's on the table for me?" Jared asked.

Jensen nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. How're you feeling?"

Jared yawned and offered Jensen a sleepy smile. "Tired, but better. Much better about my job now."

"Get some sleep," Jensen said, standing up again. "I'll stop by in the morning with the books for you."

"Thank you, Jen," Jared said with a smile. "See you later, partner."  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared put his back against the wall and nodded at Jensen. "Ready," he said, indicating the door. They had tracked down Natalie at last. She _had_ started off on the celebratory vacation her man had planned, despite the fact that he was cold and gone.

"You want me to go first?" Jensen asked.

"Your case first, partner," Jared said, flashing his dimples. "If this is her, you get the glory of talking to her first."

Jensen raised his fist and knocked on the door, stepping back to wait for a response.

"Who is it?" a female voice answered, sounding just a little nervous.

"Detectives Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki of the LA PD," Jensen called through the door. "Natalie, we know who you are. Let us in so we can talk with you."

The door cracked open an inch, and a blue eye peeked out of it. "Show me your shields!"

Jared removed his shield and carefully held it where Natalie could see.

Jensen followed suit, holding his badge up alongside Jared's. "Let us in."

"Please, Natalie, we can help you," Jared temporized Jensen's abruptness.

"Good cop, bad cop already?" Natalie asked, but she glanced at Jared, recognized him and carefully opened the door. Pulling her skimpy robe tighter around herself, she looked at them and said, "Tony's dead, isn't he?"

Jensen moved into the room beyond Natalie, taking care to not make her feel self-conscious. "I'm sorry to tell you that he is," he said.

Natalie nodded and bit her bottom lip. "I knew he was," she said, voice trembling, "when he didn't come after me. Him and his stupid ideas. Why did I believe him?"

"Because you wanted to," Jensen said more gently than he usually spoke. "Because you loved him."

Natalie shook her head and said, "He was kind to me, even if he was a bastard to the rest of the world. But his plan...it was a foolish risk. What you want is in my luggage."

Jensen arched an eyebrow and nodded at Jared to go through her luggage. "You were a hard woman to find."

"I was meant to be," Natalie said. "Bachmann wouldn't have been at all endangered by our plan, if I was out in the open. It was supposed to be why he was going to give us the money."

Jared rummaged through the luggage, looking for he wasn't sure what.

"And why is that?" Jensen asked, intrigued. "What would make Bachmann give you money?"

"We have proof that he killed Alderman Sanchez," Natalie said, referring to a gentle city politician who had refused to be bribed or intimidated, so wound up in a coffin instead. "Everything you need to nail Bachmann." 

Jensen's eyes widened almost comically. "You have irrefutable proof?"

Jared pulled out a small packet and carried it out into the room. "A cell phone and a camera?"

"Smart phone," Natalie said, "with a voice recorder app. Nice and long instructions from Bachmann to his second to get rid of Sanchez. He was careless, raving."

Reaching out, Jensen took the packet in his hands and stared at it. "You have no idea what this would mean," he said quietly.

Natalie snorted and said, "Was supposed to mean two million dollars. Now, it means revenge."

"It means so much more than just revenge," Jensen said. "You'll let us take this?"

"Means revenge for you, too, doesn’t it?" Natalie asked. "You're the one whose lover fucked him over, right?"

Jensen went cold, body freezing. "Yes.”

Natalie nodded sharply and stepped forward. "Your bastard ex got himself killed for and by Bachmann, too. So, you know that revenge is what that means the most. Fuck, yeah, you can have it. Gut him with it."

"We will," Jensen promised softly.

Natalie took a deep breath and nodded. "Good."

"What will you do?" Jared asked. "You're not wanted for anything, but you may not be safe here."

"I promise I will make him pay, Natalie," Jensen vowed. "And Jared's right. Do you have anywhere else to go?"

Natalie shook her head. "I'll keep moving. When you break Bachmann, I'll be all right again."

Jensen nodded. "Can you let us know you're safe at least, from time-to-time? We can set something up that will let you know when it's okay for you to come back."

Natalie smiled and kissed his cheek. "I will, officer. I can always go back to stripping."

"Did he leave you enough money to get by?" Jensen asked.

"I got a little," Natalie said. "Not enough, but some." She shrugged.

Jensen nodded and pulled out his wallet. "It's no tmuch, add this to what you have," he said over any protest she might make. "I want to know you're safe while we're taking him down."

Jared smiled at Jensen's generous nature, but pulled out his own wallet, as well. "Here's a little from me, too. It's more than worth it, to bring Bachmann down." Jared handed Jensen the cell phone and camera. "Hey, uh, what's the camera for?"

Natalie shrugged. "We were going to destroy the cell phone and send him pictures of us doing it, as proof after we got the money."

Jensen nodded and handed her the camera back. "You might as well keep that, unless there are any photos on it we could use for evidence."

Natalie shook her head. "Take it. I don't want it around anymore. I don't want nothing to remind me."

"Okay, done," Jensen said, tucking the items in his pocket. "You want us to wait for you to pack up? We can escort you wherever you need to go to head out."

"You're a reminder, too, cop," Natalie said. "Get out and get Bachmann. I'll even show up for the trial, if it's good."

Jensen laughed and squeezed her hand. "Yeah okay, we're out of here. Thank you."

Jared smiled and nodded more solemnly, putting a card on the nightstand. "Our numbers, if you need anything. We are sorry for your loss."

"No, you're not," Natalie said. "He was a bastard to everyone but me, and it got him killed. You're just the only ones who get to win out of this."

"We're not sorry he won't continue to commit crime, but we are sorry that you lost someone who treated you well," Jensen said.

Natalie nodded and then looked at Jared. "I remember you, JareBear. You're one the only cops who didn't treat us girls like crap or pieces of meat. Don't be so nice to Bachmann."

"Yes, ma'am," Jared said. "My partner won't let me." He held out his hand to her. "Good luck."

Taking his huge hand in her tiny one, Natalie said, "Fuck 'em for me." She turned to Jensen. "Fuck 'em for you, too."

Jensen nodded. "Will do. Thank you," he said and stepped back out of her hotel room.

Jared shut the door quietly behind them and blew out a harsh breath. "Fuck. We have a way to stop Bachmann."

"Yeah," Jensen said, almost laughing with nerves.

Jared put a hand in the middle of Jensen's back, trying to steady him. "Jensen," he asked, "will you tell me now?"

Jensen nodded. "Gonna need food and alcohol for that," he said, leaning slightly into Jared's steadying hand.

Jared rubbed in a small circle and said, "After we get this evidence logged, duplicated and into the system, so we can start the procedure to arrest Bachmann, then we'll sit down over dinner and really talk."

"Yeah," Jensen agreed, still not realizing how much comfort he was taking from Jared's gesture.

"Come on then," Jared said and urged Jensen before him. "Let's go get the bastard."  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared watched the waiter leave with their orders and settled back in the booth to watch his partner. "So, what Natalie said," he began, "was that the truth?" 

Jensen nodded jerkily, playing with his napkin in his lap and not meeting Jared's eyes. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Your last long time partner," Jared said. "His name was Daniel something...Daniel Bayer?" 

"Yes," Jensen said taking a huge breath followed by a huge sip of water before looking at Jared. He knew he just had to get it over with. "Danny was my partner in all ways and had been for five years when it all went down. We met at the academy."

"Your lover, you mean," Jared said softly. "What happened?"

Jensen nodded again and finished off his water. He looked away and slowly started to tell Jared his story. "We got together pretty early on, applied to the same precinct and both got assigned. We weren't partners right away, but eventually, we got teamed up. We were so excited…" Jensen flicked his gaze to Jared and then away again. "I don't know when he went bad and believe me I've tried to figure it out."

Jared nodded and murmured, "How did Bachmann fit in?"

"Somewhere, somehow, Bachmann got to Danny," Jensen said. "He lured him in, probably with promises of lots of money. Danny came from a poor family and always wanted just that much more than he, or we, could really afford. Then one day, I caught a case." Jensen laughed roughly, tears welling in his eyes at the memory.

"People like Bachmann are good at finding people's weaknesses," Jared growled. "They feed off of them." He reached out instinctively to Jensen at the sight of tears and caught one of his hands, squeezing. "What case?"

Jensen looked around helplessly for a few moments and then took a shaky breath. "It doesn't really matter because it wasn't real," he said with a bitter laugh. "Danny and his friends in Bachmann's employ set me up, fake information, stumbling across leads...the whole bag." Shaking his head at his on stupidity, Jensen got the waiters attention and ordered a beer.

"Hey, that's not your fault," Jared said. "Why did they pick on you?"

"No idea except Danny, I guess. He was not just partners, but also lovers with me and his secret was getting so big and so dangerous," Jensen guessed with a shrug. "I was never able to get a real answer out of him about it and well, I can't now. I think Bachmann also was testing his loyalty...making sure he wasn't undercover or a double."

"He was being investigated," Jared said. "I remember reading about that. Having the two of you seeming to chase Bachmann may have been an attempt to get some of the suspicion off his back, too."

Jensen nodded, thanked the waiter for his beer and swallowed a third of it down with just a slight cough. "I found out in the course of the investigation that it was a complete set up. Danny had sold me out to Bachmann...my death for Danny's money and continued inclusion in his businesses. I didn't believe it, didn't want to believe it."

"Fuck," Jared breathed. "And you and he were together all that time?"

"Yes," Jensen said. "I was forced to believe it was all true when I managed to shoot and kill Danny before he got off a killing shot on me. He'd spewed everything out, telling me all along the way how I was his ticket to more and then he missed."

"Fuck," Jared breathed again and found himself stroking Jensen's hand soothingly. "I'm sorry, Jen."

Jensen nodded jerkily, sucking down another third of his beer. "Yeah, well...it didn't stop there. I managed to expose a group of corrupt cops, but Bachmann escaped."

"But you ended up shutting out everyone else," Jared said. "You didn't want to be hurt again." 

"Who would?" he said kind of bitterly, sucking down the rest of his beer and ordering a second one. Jensen rubbed his hand over his face and then turned to look at Jared. "Bachmann sent me taunting photos and letters for almost a year...pictures of Danny fucking all kinds of men."

Jared's face closed and turned menacing at the thought of Bachmann hurting his partner that way. "You'll have the last, best laugh on him, Jen," he promised. And then his face smoothed out, and he leaned closer to his partner. "Let me help you."

Jensen nodded sadly, flicking a look at Jared and then back down to the table. All he wanted was to go home and forget all about Bachmann. "Not really hungry," he said, tipping back his beer.

"How long since you talked to anyone?" Jared demanded softly. "Since you let someone be your friend?"

"Don't have any friends, Jared," Jensen said with a brief flick of his eyes.

"You have one now," Jared said. 

Jensen smiled softly, not really believing Jared but appreciating the gesture anyway. "Thanks," he said. "Short night tonight."

"And what will you do?" Jared asked.

"Go home, stare at the walls," Jensen said, surprising himself with his own honesty.

"Is that really better then being here with me?" Jared asked.

Jensen shook his head and sighed. "Not exactly good company at my best, and I'm definitely not at my best."

"This is the best you've ever treated me," Jared said. 

Another flicker of his eyes to Jared and Jensen acknowledged and agreed with Jared's statement. He sucked down a quarter of his beer and wiped at his mouth. "I've been a miserable bastard for years, Jay."

"So, it's a good time to change," Jared said. "A chance to help put the past where it belongs."

"I was amazed they let me keep my shield considering how horribly I had done my job," Jensen said, not able to put it away.

"You've done a good job, Jen," Jared said. "You just drove a lot of partners away."

Jensen snorted ruefully. "The first few weren't even hard to run off...but, Jay, I _know_ what they say about me and no good cop deserves to be saddled with someone so tainted by suspicion."

"What do you think they say about you, Jen?" Jared demanded.

"Most of the men in our precinct think I'm a dirty cop, Jared," Jensen said with quiet resignation.

"Then we'll teach them different," Jared said. "You and me, Jen. I know you're a good cop and want to work with you."

Jensen lifted his gaze to Jared, eyes shocky and bewildered. He didn't understand how Jared could just believe in him.

Offering Jensen one of his huge smiles, Jared said, "I'm the one who won't let you down."

"You've done everything but that," Jensen admitted with a much smaller smile.

Jared beamed at Jensen and then at the waiter, as he brought their dinners. "Want to see you eat that, partner," he said, as steaks were placed in front of them.

Jensen smiled wanly, poking at the steak with half-hearted interest. "Will do my best."

Jared smiled sadly at the way Jensen abused his steak. "Good. These are good steaks."

"I'm sure they are, just not hungry any more," Jensen said by way of apology, cutting into the steak and nibbling at one bite.

"Should I have not asked?" Jared asked, feeling shamed.

Jensen shook his head and offered Jared a smile. "No, you have every right to know the truth. It doesn't make it any easier to deal with, though."

"I don't have a right, but I wanted to know," Jared said. "I want to be the best partner I can to you, Jensen."

"You're my partner," Jensen said. "You have a right to know why this is personal for me."

"Thank you for telling me. I can see how much it hurt you. I hope it helps make it better, too. When my last boyfriend cheated on me... well, it always felt a little better every time I let out some of the bitterness," Jared said. "One day, it was all gone."

Jensen flashed his eyes up to Jared. "I've never told anyone about those photos before."

"I hope you destroyed them all. Had a great big bonfire," Jared said.

Jensen shook his head and then laughed, blushing slightly. "I shredded them."

"Well, that's almost as good. I took most of my pictures with Frank and BBQed them. Even poured on some sauce... course I was also sauced," Jared said.

Laughing out loud, Jensen shook his head at Jared and forced himself to take another bite of his steak. It really was delicious and he hated to waste it.

Jared beamed as Jensen laughed and said, "Seriously, it was very cathartic. Ruined my grill, though."

"I bet it did." Jensen shook his head at Jared burning his photos.

"I may have thrown in a few clothes, too," Jared said. He lifted his beer to Jensen. "To forgetting awful exes."

Jensen toasted Jared with his beer before finishing it off and taking a larger bite of his steak. "If only it were really that easy."

"Yeah, it's not that easy, but it's a start," Jared said. "Come home with me."

"What?" Jensen asked, fork halted mid way to his mouth.

"Meet my pups, watch some sports, sleep in the guest room and let me make you breakfast in the morning," Jared said. "Better than going home alone."

Jensen thought about it, finished his bite of steak and thought about the offer while he chewed it. "Yeah, thanks," he said quietly.

"Sweet," Jared said. "A chance to show off my flat screen."

Laughing softly, Jensen shook his head at Jared. "Need some stuff from mine."

"Not a problem," Jared said and kicked him lightly under the table. "We can watch the Rangers win for once."

Jensen grinned and nodded slightly, signaling their waitress for water. "Not thinking about things would be good tonight."

"And then tomorrow, we can go work another case," Jared said. "Really prove our partnership."

Nodding, Jensen looked at Jared and offered him a smile. He still wasn't sure if Jared would continue to want to be his partner, but for the first time since Danny he felt he might be ready to really work with someone.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared sank back in his chair with a groan, barely refraining from flinging paper everywhere. "Who knew this process was so frustrating? Even with the DA pressing charges against Bachmann, what with his damn lawyers, we're never going to get a break from chasing him down." 

"That's why we're pushing, and we'll keep pushing," Jensen said. "We _have_ to find more evidence to hang him on."

Jared scowled and thumbed through more documents, before sighing and settling back to read them again. "Federal warrants are great things. Some money for more help would be awesome."

Jensen snorted. "Yeah, that's not likely." He looked down at his stack of documents and groaned before pushing back from his desk and heading over to make them even more coffee.

Jared hopped up and followed after Jensen. He smacked his ass playfully and went to fetch a new container of sugar. "Need more candy, too." 

"Hey!" Jensen called out. "You want some more coffee? We should probably order in dinner."

"Pizza? Chinese? Japanese? Italian?" Jared called back. "And no coffee. I have my soda... and Twix!"

"Coffee's better than soda...grab me a Snickers!" Jensen called back, grabbing the menus and flicking through them. "Let's order Chinese."

"Chinese," Jared said and nodded. "I could use some mu shuu shrimp in my life. Oh, and crab rangoon! Don't forget those!" 

"Anything else for the human garbage disposal?" Jensen asked, dialing the nearest Chinese place with delivery.

"Fucker," Jared said mildly. "I'll have some walnut prawns, too." He tossed Jensen his Snickers and returned to his desk with Coke and Twix in hand.

Jensen snorted, caught the Snickers and rattled off Jared's order before adding his own cashew chicken, edamame and doubling the crab rangoon order. "Thanks man," he said, opening the candy bar and taking a bite before sitting back at his desk with his caffeine and sugar duo.

"You know, these guys spent a long time talking about the most boring shit ever," Jared groused, flipping through more papers. "I can't believe the crap in these." He tossed several more into the done pile.

"Heh, yeah...sometimes I think they knew they were being recorded and just talked bullshit for hours on purpose," Jensen said with a weary sigh.

"I'm sure of it," Jared said. "Otherwise, the entire five hour conversation about pigfucking is just wrong on so many levels"

Jensen snorted. "Yeah," he said, sitting back in his seat and ignoring the files in front of him. "Though I wouldn't put it past these guys either."

"Might be the only action they can get," Jared agreed with a grin.

"Yeah, though how our dead guy landed Natalie, I'm still not sure," Jensen said, sipping his coffee and pulling a file toward him with a grimace. 

"He actually seems to have treated her well. How many girls like that can find a guy who does?" Jared asked. "It's not like strippers attract the nicest of men usually."

Jensen shrugged. "True enough. Something just doesn't fit. He treated her well, and yet he was in deep with Bachmann and his cronies." Shaking his head, Jensen tried to let it go, but something was clawing at his instincts and he just couldn't find the right piece.

"People don't always work out so neatly in black and white," Jared said. "Look at us."

"Yeah, I guess," Jensen said, opening the file and scanning the information distractedly.

"You disagree?" Jared asked. "Think his true colors were going to come out later? Maybe he was using her to hide the information?"

Jensen shrugged. "Not that, although it's an option. I just feel like I'm missing something," he said in frustration.

"You've just been cooped up to long," Jared said. "How about we go shoot some hoops tomorrow? Burn off some of this excess energy we've gotten and maybe a little frustration."

"Yeah, that could work," Jensen said with a rare smile for Jared. He turned at the sound of the delivery guy entering the squad room and got up to get their food, paying the guy and taking the rest of the stuff to Jared's desk. Jensen was completely unaware of the rest of the squad room sending him odd looks.

Jared beamed at Jensen when he returned and said, "Thanks, partner." He grabbed out some boxes and opened them, dividing them between them. "Here's yours. You know, I told you this would happen."

"What?" Jensen asked, blinking at Jared. He took his boxes, dropped napkins on Jared's desk along with a pair of chopsticks for him before sitting at his own desk. "They gave us free Coke again."

"They love us," Jared said. "You and I are partners now, like I said we'd be. I didn't let you quit me." He dropped a playful wink at Jensen.

Jensen looked around and caught people looking away quickly. His brows drew into a frown and he leaned toward Jared. "What are you talking about?" he asked, not sure why people had been watching them and suddenly feeling oddly self-conscious.

"The Chinese place loves us," Jared clarified, taking his free drink. "And we are now partners. For good and all."

Jensen grinned. "Yeah, I guess we are, aren't we?" he asked.

Jared leaned forward and stage whispered, "And in case you haven't noticed, it's rubbing off on you. You've been nice to everyone lately."

"I wasn't nice before?" Jensen asked, eyes flicking around the room. He'd never really engaged anyone before, mostly just left them all alone.

"You weren't all warmth and sunshine, partner," Jared drawled. "Now, more often than not, you're smiling."

Jensen snorted. "Well, no, but I was never mean to anyone...other than the previous partners."

"People take the cold shoulder as being mean," Jared said. "And your previous partners didn't have much nice to say."

"Well no, I was mean to them," Jensen said matter-of-factly. He looked around the room with a frown. "Why would I be nice when they act like I'm going to be the next cop to fall?"

"Fall?" Jared asked, head tilted.

"Yeah, as in bad cop. They've long acted like I'm the next one after Danny," Jensen said, fighting to keep his tone level.

Jared touched his arm gently. "I'm sure they never thought that, especially after what happened to Daniel. Maybe they didn't know how to approach you right after."

Jensen shook his head. "No, I mean ever since," he said, looking around and thinning his lips. "Not here okay...another time?"

"Hey, I'm here for you," Jared said. "Whatever you need and where you want. Got it?"

Jensen nodded, offering Jared a real smile. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."

Jared offered Jensen some walnut shrimp. "Now, I'm determined that we should get away from this on Saturday, too."

Jensen took the bite without thinking and tipped his head while he chewed. "There's still so much to wade through."

Jared grabbed a piece of his own with his chopsticks and popped it in his mouth. "My brain's going to start leaking out my ears soon."

"That'd be pretty gross," Jensen teased. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Fuck, I don't know" Jared said. "Something active. I need to move and not just at the gym."

Jensen arched an eyebrow. "Ever surf?"

Jared grinned and nodded. "I'm terrible, but it's awesome."

"We should totally surf," Jensen said, popping open the Coke can and sipping at it.

"Fuck, yeah," Jared said. "I am all over that idea. Tell me when to pick you up."

Jensen thought about it and hummed. "If we want some good waves, you should probably stop by around 7am. It's about forty to forty-five minutes to the best surf I know."

"Sweet," Jared said and then ducked his head, almost shy. "You think you could help me with the surfing? I'm all uncoordinated as a newborn colt on a board."

"Yeah, of course," Jensen said with a chuckle. "You're huge which is part of why you're shaky, but I can help you with balance." He smiled back at Jared, almost as shy

"Bet you're an awesome surfer," Jared said. "Bet everyone stares and cheers when you're riding the waves."

Jensen shook his head. "Not really," he said. "But I get by on it. Took it up shortly after I moved out here."

"You kept it up much?" Jared asked, still skimming documents and setting them aside.

"Almost every weekend," he says with a grin. "The upside of few friends is that I get to do what I want with my time." Jensen smirked in Jared's direction.

"Well, too damn bad, you're just gonna have to learn to work in your friends, too," Jared said and stuck out his tongue like a little kid.

Jensen laughed. "I'll get started with you, but that's all I can promise."

"It's a damn fine start," Jared said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Shaking his head at Jared, Jensen dug into his dinner. It was easy to put some of his crap behind him with he had Jared teasing him. He'd forgotten just how much fun it could be to have a friend.

Jared pooched out his lower lip at Jensen. "You don't think so?" he fake whined.

"Of course it is," Jensen said. "Not why I was shaking my head."

"Good. You better agree with me," Jared said, lightly kicking Jensen's shin. 

Jensen shook his head again, marveling at how Jared had managed to get under his skin.

Jared snorted and looked back at his papers. "All right, all right. Back to work then. Slave driver."

Beaming at Jared across their desks, Jensen ignored his own work for a bit while enjoying his dinner.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared checked his gun clip and vest one last time and then nodded at Jensen. "We're ready, Jen. You think this is going to be the battle everyone else does?" He glanced at the well-armed team behind them with a little frown.

"I think it's going to be worse," Jensen said, waiting until Jared was looking him in the eye. "Bachmann has more to lose than any of us can even start to understand. Don't do anything stupid, Jay."

Jared blinked and offered a wry smile at Jensen. "You mean like run into a bullet?" he asked. "I'll try not to."

Jensen sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah, that would be epic on the stupid scale." He suddenly didn't want Jared involved and that rocked him to the core. 

"Same goes for you, Jensen," Jared said, completely serious. "No, getting yourself killed trying to get revenge on Bachmann. We do this right."

"Yeah," Jensen said. "This bastard needs to pay."

"The right way, Jen, unless there's no other choice," Jared said. He motioned the team into position and said, "Your lead, Ackles."

Jensen squared his shoulders and motioned the team forward to storm Bachmann's compound. "Let's do this, Jay."

Jared blew out a harsh breath, nodded and moved to follow Jensen inside. He was surprised when the gates opened for them, but worried, too. The first crack of a gun and whine of bullet ended any thoughts that Bachmann might go willingly. He was done. He knew it. And he was determined to go our fighting.

Cursing, Jensen ducked low and called out a few commands to his fellow officers. He moved along the edges of the drive and led the team further into the compound with the minimal knowledge they had of Bachmann's schedule and blueprints.

Jared heard more bullets sing around him, as well as the answering shots of some of his fellow officers. He used trees, cars, anything as cover, trying to get a better look at the shooters. "There's three on the roof of the outbuilding!' he called to Jensen.

Nodding, Jensen relayed the information to their own crack team and then rapidly crossed to Jared's side. "You're too big to try and make it across the lawn. Go up the drive, use the tree line and get ready to make double time to the rest of the guys," he said.

"Seriously?" Jared groaned, giving Jensen a cock-eyed look. "I can handle myself, man."

"Jay," Jensen said, not wanting to argue, but also not wanting Jared in the open. "Look, I'm not running with them either. Just...be careful." He turned away, barking out another command after receiving some information in his headset.

Jared cursed once and headed for the tree line, feeling a little coddled and dissed by Jensen's attitude. Of course he would be careful. He ducked low under branches, keeping a wary eye out for more of Bachmann's men and cursing as the sounds of gunfire increased from the lawn area.

Jensen crowed when he got word that the three rooftop snipers were down. He signaled to the team closest to him to make time over the lawn and get into the compound. He ordered their third team around the back to make sure no one went in or out of the woods.

Jared stumbled over a root and cursed himself, before poking his head carefully out from around a trunk. The back way to the house looked clear, but there was a SUV with its motor running on the drive. Thumbing his walkie-talkie, he called Jensen. "There's a SUV ready to make a break back here. I think there may be a gate leading out this way. Some drive that wasn't on any of our maps."

"Shit. Jay, I need you to stay on that, okay?" Jensen said, waving to one of the team leaders. He switched channels to the second group and called back two of their men, before switching again to the third group and calling back another two men to assist Jared.

"Roger that," Jared said, unable to help the bit of corniness. He tensed when three people ran out of the back of the house toward the SUV. "Shit! Jensen, Bachmann's three main bodyguards just came out." He tensed as a familiar, though never seen outside of pictures, man strode out toward the car. "And Bachmann."

Jensen cursed again and changed directions, running toward Jared's position. He flipped his comm to the main channel and barked out orders for the teams to abort and head toward the drive Jared had discovered, dread curling in his stomach and leaving him cold.

Jared took a deep breath and then stepped out, gun drawn. "Police, freeze and put your hands up!" He winced as all of the men reached for their guns. Throwing himself to the right, he shot one of them and fired at the others. 

"Fuck," Jensen said, ducking his head and running as fast as possible with his gun at the ready. 

Jared watched two of Bachmann's men go down with deep satisfaction, even as the crime boss ducked for safety into his vehicle. And then something smashed into his left knee, and pain shocked his nerves. His next two shots went wild, and he could hear himself yelling for help, even as another big man emerged from the SUV, joining the one who had shot him. They both raced his direction.

"Officer down!" Jensen screamed into his headset. "Officer down!" He pushed himself even further, trying his hardest to reach Jared and struggling for every breath. He rounded the compound and saw Bachmann's men approaching his partner.

Jared got off another shot, but it went awry. And then a boot came down on his hand, and he cried out, dropping the gun. 

"Take him!" Bachmann yelled from the SUV.

Jared struggled as the men grabbed him, obviously well versed in how to handle a man even as large as he was. And his wounded leg took a lot of the fight out of him, especially when one gave it a nasty twist. He screamed and felt himself fly through the air and into the SUV's trunk.

"Jared!" Jensen screamed, doing his best to aim and shoot at the men tossing Jared into the getaway vehicle. He was not able to get a shot off at any of them, before the SUV tore away and out the back of the compound.  
~~~~~~~~~~

The squad room thrummed with activity, everyone busy trying to discover where Bachmann may have gone, taking Detective Jared Padalecki with him. For three days, they had searched frantically and fruitlessly for the crime boss. The news blared with requests for assistance, and everybody worked until they nearly fell down in exhaustion. 

"Not good enough," Jensen growled at the poor aide who was giving him the most recent update on their status. He stood up and slammed his fist on the desk. "How is it possible that Bachmann had a driveway, get away vehicle and apparently a hide out that we have no information on? After all the time on this...how?!"

Heads ducked all over, trying to avoid the furious gaze. A brave voice ventured, "You think there are more dirty cops here?"

Jensen turned dark eyes on the squad room. "There's always dirty cops," he said shortly. "If not in this room, then possibly in this precinct and definitely in this city. And that dirty cop is the reason that Padalecki is still among the missing." He glowered at everyone in the room.

One of Jensen's former partners, Larry Meyer, approached him cautiously. "You have an idea who might have tipped Bachmann?" he asked.

Turning to eye Larry, Jensen stared hard and said, "I have a couple of thoughts on it, yeah."

Larry shifted uneasily and said, "There were some rumors about one of Daniel's partners before you. Older guy named Roemer. He's still on the force. Mostly rides a desk." 

Jensen arched an eyebrow and bit his lip, looking around and then nodding at Larry. "It's been said.”

"I'm not a snitch," Larry said, "but this is serious. Padalecki is one of us. Before the raid, Roemer acted weird, asked questions about stuff he didn't need to know, made a few odd phone calls. And he has more money then a cop should."

"I'd wondered," Jensen said, nodding his head. "Thank you." He hesitated and then looked Larry directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry...for all the shit I pulled. For how I treated you."

Larry offered a smile and said, "The kid's been good for you, Ackles. We all want to make sure we get him back in one piece. We like the happier model of you."

Jensen blushed, fighting the acid comeback that used to be his M.O. "Yeah, I kinda like it myself," he agreed. "Let me know if you hear anything else on Roemer."

"Yeah, all right," Larry said. "You want to take care of him then?"

"Are you offering?" Jensen asked, still surprised by his fellow officer.

"To help you take down the son-of-a-bitch that tipped off Bachmann and find Padalecki, you bet your ass I will," Larry said.

Jensen grinned unexpectedly and then nodded. "Yeah, okay then. We need to get some people digging on him."

"Are you going to confront him?" Larry asked, a little worried.

Laughing, Jensen nodded. "Not without backup."

"I'll get some of the others," Larry said. "And assign a few people to dig into his Roemer's recent activities, too."

"Good...thanks," Jensen said, meaning it like he never had before. "We need to get Padalecki back."

"He's a good cop," Larry said. "We'll get your partner back to you, if anyone can."  
~~~~~~~~~~

Larry led a small party of officers to Jensen's desk and stopped in front. "Hey, Ackles."

"Cabot," Jensen said, lifting his gaze to his former partner and then an eyebrow at the group of ex-partners standing around his desk. "What's up?"

"We heard you were going to take on Roemer today," Larry said. "And we want to be there when you do."

Jensen blinked at the men and stood up. "Oh yeah?" he asked.

Larry nodded and said, "We don't like dirty cops any more than you do. And we figure we owe Padalecki for making you a good cop again."

Snorting out a laugh, Jensen nodded and reached out to grip Larry's hand. "Yeah, okay. Let's get him back, then."

Larry shook Jensen's hand with true pleasure. "Let's go nail ourselves a dirty cop."

Jensen sobered at the thought and then turned back to his desk to grab some paperwork. "Did you get anything, Cabot?"

"Nothing more to add to the money and the mysterious phone call right before our raid on Bachmann. We did found out that he got the information from one of the young officers. We'd prefer not to give names unless we have to." Larry looked a little uneasy. "He meant no harm."

"Yeah, I'm not out for the kid," Jensen said. "Roemer knows where they are. He has to, and we need to get that from him."

"If anyone can make him tell, you can," Larry said with a smile. "Just growl at him the way you used to at me."

Jensen scrubbed a hand over his face and offered an apologetic smile. "Yeah, it's been said that it might be intimidating."

"Let's find out," Larry said with a hand gesture toward the part of the building Roemer worked in. "We'll be right behind you."

"Let's do this," Jensen said, turning and leading the group to Roemer.

Roemer, a slightly overweight, middle-aged cop, whose blown knees had him riding a desk for the last five years, was bent over a stack of paperwork, when the sound of multiple footsteps made him look up. The sight of Jensen, leading a small squadron of men made him swallow hard. But he plastered a friendly smile on his face and said, "Detective Ackles, how may I help you?"

"You can tell me all you know about how Bachmann was tipped off about our raid earlier this week," Jensen said in an easy drawl.

Roemer swallowed hard and tried for confused innocence. "I don't know what you mean, Sir."

Jensen thought of Jared and hardened his gaze. "Yes, you do, and so do we. We know about the money, Roemer, the lavish lifestyle you've been leading. We know you tipped him off...that you got Padalecki captured." 

Roemer shook his head and said, "No, Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."

Leaning over Roemer's desk, Jensen narrowed his gaze and growled low. "If anything happens to Padalecki, I'm holding you personally responsible. You've already sold out this squad and precinct, and there are three good officers in the hospital from the tip you gave Bachmann...don't play coy with me."

Roemer turned a shade of white normally found only in the arctic, but continued to shake his head. "I- I don't know what you mean, Sir. There's been a mistake."

"Cabot, want to show him what we've got?" Jensen asked, voice low and mean while he stared down Roemer.

Larry came forward and dropped a stack of paper on Roemer's desk. "Financials, showing a string of payments from a Swiss bank account, which coincide with Bachmann's movements. A particularly large one right after our failed raid, where Bachmann got away and took Detective Padalecki with him."

Jensen arched an eyebrow. "Circumstantial is more than enough for IAB, Roemer, and you know it. We've also traced calls to Bachmann's phone lines that night." He smiled evilly. "Not long before the raid went to hell in our faces."

Roemer took a deep breath and mumbled another denial, "Not true. Can't prove anything, Ackles. Just hounding me." 

"You haven't seen hounding, Roemer," Jensen said, growling the words out. 

Roemer swallowed, knowing Ackles' reputation as a ball-buster, and looked down at the papers. "I want a deal," he muttered.

Jensen growled and lunged for Roemer.

Roemer lurched backward from Jensen's violent motion, even as Larry leaped to grab Jensen around the chest. "No, don't! We need his information!" 

Panting, Jensen stared at Roemer and then shook Cabot off gently. "Get him into interview. If I touch him, I'm going to do something we can't afford."

Larry jerked his chin toward some of the others, who wrangled Roemer into one of the interview rooms. He patted Jensen on the shoulder and asked, "You want to do this?"

Jensen shook his head. "Don't think I can. I'll watch and add anything I need to, but I'm ready to rip his throat out."

"I understand," Larry said. "We'll get the ADA here right away, and Roemer's representative, too. Fuck, I knew he was dirty, but there's something worse about having him admit it."

"Yeah, there's always that vestige of hope that one of our own didn't actually cross that line," Jensen said, blowing out a breath. "Fuck, we need to know where Jared is."

"Everyone will hustle their asses on this one," Larry said. "We'll press Roemer hard. He knows that saving Padalecki's neck will also save his. If anything happens to that kid, they'll be no mercy for him."

Jensen nodded. The thought of Roemer getting any kind of deal turned his stomach, especially with Jared still missing.

"Yeah, I know, but getting him back and catching Bachmann is more important," Larry said. "Come on, let's go make sure everything is done right."

"Yeah," Jensen said, turning to head back to his desk. There were details they needed to sort out before they could go get Jared back.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared slumped forward against the ropes around his waist, chest and wrists, trying to focus only on his breathing. Blood still trickled from his nose, and he could feel the sharp pain in his left wrist, where they had snapped the bones tying him in place...two days prior. The shot to his leg seemed to be nothing more than a flesh wound, and the dried blood there had crusted to his pants. Every inch of him hurt in a cacophony of bruises, cuts, dents and strains.

Jensen stood outside the safe house, tucked in the leaves of the bushes while he watched Bachmann and his men move about. They looked to be making plans, not one of them looking out the windows or paying attention to where Jared lay in a heap. With a deep breath, he gave the signal to advance. 

Jared raised his head at the sudden banging in of the front door, the yells of "Put your hands up!" and the sounds of boots rushing all over the floor. He struggled in his ropes as Bachmann ran toward him, gun drawn. "Stay still, pig," he sneered, grabbing Jared's ropes and struggling to pull him up.

"Fuck," Jensen whispered, coming around the door and seeing Bachmann holding Jared. He brought his weapon up in a snap and called out, "Freeze! Drop the gun and put your hands up!"

"One move and he dies, Ackles," Bachmann said. "Just like your last little fuck toy." He fought to drag Jared with him, but the cop’s sheer size made the task impossible.

Jensen looked Jared up and down, mouth hardening at the sight of his injuries. "Never could do your own work, Bachmann," he said. "Always had someone else do it for you. Let him go."

Bachmann snarled at Jensen and said, "I fucked your boy good enough. That was my cock in his ass, making him scream."

"You and all your men," Jensen said with a scoff, doing his best to fight the pain and anger. "Leave Padalecki out of this."

Bachmann continued to try to drag the dead weight that was Jared along. Jared suddenly lurched forward, using all his remaining strength to knock Bachmann offblanace. With an angry cry, Bachmann lost his grip, and Jared face-planted into the concrete.

Jensen moved swiftly across the room, gun trained on Bachmann. "I've got Bachmann," he yelled. 

Bachmann swore and took a wild shot at Jensen, turning to run for the door.

Taking aim, Jensen shot Bachmann in the shoulder, making him drop his gun, and then stepped toward him, shielding Jared. 

Larry and two other cops burst in and headed straight for Jensen. "We got em all, Ackles. Take care of your partner." They wrestled the swearing Bachmann away, reading him his rights as they left.

Jensen nodded, tucked the gun away and dropped to the floor by Jared. "Jay," he said softly, reaching out to push Jared's bangs off his face.

Jared forced a weak smile for his partner. "Jen. Knew you'd be coming for me, man." He groaned and tried to shift. "Think you could get these ropes off me?"

"Yeah, of course," Jensen said, called for a medic, pulled out his knife and started to cut through the ropes binding Jared.

Jared's breath hitched in pain as his limbs were released. He slumped further against the cement with a tired sigh. "Water?"

Jensen nodded and helped Jared get settled. "The medics are coming. I'll be right back." He moved through the safe house to the kitchen, opened the fridge and grabbed some water before making his way back to Jared's side.

Jared managed a weak smile for the other officers, before shutting his eyes. When Jensen returned, he opened his eyes again. "Thanks. Help me?"

"Of course," Jensen said. He helped Jared angle himself against Jensen so he could recline enough to sip water.

Jared leaned against his partner, gratefully sipping his water. "How did you find me?" he murmured.

"We found another dirty cop," Jensen said, brushing Jared's hair off his face and running his hands gently down Jared's arms without even realizing what he was doing. "Found the money, the calls that led to Bachmann's escape and then we pushed the cop. Cabot had to stop me from nearly killing him."

The soft touches contrasted so differently from the rough way Jared had been treated since his capture that he didn't protest even when Jensen brushed over his broken wrist. "Knew my partner wouldn't let me down," he slurred.

Jensen huffed out a laugh and cradled Jared even closer, helping him to drink more of the water. "Wasn't going to let you down, Jay."

"You got him, partner. Got Bachmann." Jared tilted his head up to smile at Jensen. "Get a promotion."

"Got you back," Jensen said, voice rough. "That’s more important."

"Not gonna be any good for awhile, Jen," Jared said with a cough. He lifted his better arm and gripped one of Jensen's hands. "Thank you."

Jensen held Jared's hand tight and then twined their fingers together. "You're gonna be fine, Jay. Gonna make sure of that," he said softly, turning to look at the medics. "Gotta let them take you to the hospital."

"Come with?" Jared asked, eyes wide and pleading.

"Yeah, if you want," Jensen said, slipping out from behind Jared when the medic moved to take his place. "Let me tell Cabot." He stepped away, flagged down his former partner and gave him a quick run down, before he hurried back to Jared.

Jared reached for Jensen the instant he came back into view. His other arm was already in a sling, while they worked to clean and bind a still bleeding wound to his side.

Jensen took Jared's hand. "Hey, I got you," he said softly, squeezing the fingers lightly and then tangling their hands together. "I'll need your keys again to get you some more reading material."

"Yeah, this is getting to be a bad habit," Jared said with a weary smile. "The hospital. This I could get used to." He squeezed Jensen's hand.

"I think I'm putting a ban on hospitals for you once you get out of it this time," Jensen said, doing his best to ignore Jared's other statement. He couldn't, wouldn't get involved in that kind of discussion around the medics.

"Yeah," Jared said, a hint of hurt in his tone. He offered a weak smile and then moved his arm away, so the medic could attach an IV drip. "Should head to the station after I get there. Lots of questions to answer."

Jensen shook his head, "I'm going to wait and see what the doctors say. Not leaving you in the hospital alone."

"Should get credit," Jared said. "'S a big day for you. Biggest of career."

"It's fine, Jay," Jensen said. "Lots of men were in on it. Just want to make sure you're all settled in." No one was going to pull him away from Jared.

"Thanks," Jared said. "Who was dirty cop?"

"Roemer," Jensen said. "Some beat cop told him about the raid at the last minute, which is how he got the information to Bachmann in time."

Jared thought a minute, mind fuzzy and sleep closing in. "Not know him."

Jensen nodded, took Jared's hand in his again. "You don't need to know him. He's going to pay."

"YergoodcopJen," Jared said, as exhaustion took over completely. "Partner." 

"Get some rest, Jay. I'll be here when you wake up," Jensen promised, squeezing their fingers together.

"'K, Jen," Jared mumbled and let the pain meds pull him under.

Jensen squeezed Jared's hand and then set it on the gurney once he was asleep. He followed the medics out to the ambulance.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared waited impatiently for Jensen to arrive and get him out of the hospital. It had only taken a week for his wounds to heal enough to be checked out, but he already chomped at the bit to get home and back to duty. 

Jensen smiled at the nurse's station, arching his eyebrow toward Jared's room. "He ready to go?"

"More than," the weary nurse replied with a shake of his head. "He's got more energy than any of the toddlers I've ever worked with." 

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Jensen said with a laugh, moving past the nurse's station, knocking on Jared's door. "Hey man, ready to go?"

"There you are," Jared said with a beaming smile. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up," he teased.

Jensen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I had to clear my desk for the next couple of days." He leaned in the doorway and smiled at Jared. "The nurses have a wheelchair on the way."

"The next couple of days?" Jared asked. His smile widened until it nearly split his face. "You spending time with me?"

Blushing slightly, Jensen nodded. "Yeah, figured I'd hang out with you, help you around the house and stuff for a bit. You're not entirely good to go."

"My partner," Jared beamed. "Can you cook?"

"Yeah, I can cook," Jensen said with a rueful shake of his head. He moved out of the way for the orderly with the wheelchair.

"Then you can stay forever," Jared said. He climbed somewhat gingerly into the wheelchair and beamed at Jensen. "I've got my papers. Let's blow this joint."

Jensen shook his head and took the wheelchair from the orderly with a smile. "You do realize you're trading the hospital for your apartment...for a good week at least, right?"

"And you, I hope," Jared said with a glance at Jensen. "You can stay with me. My bed is plenty large enough."

Spluttering, Jensen looked around and then smiled fondly at Jared. "We'll see if I'm ready to kill you before nightfall first."

"Oh, c'mon," Jared said. "You love me. You know you do."

Jensen laughed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you'll be a good patient."

"But you'll put up with me either way," Jared said, bouncing as Jensen didn't contradict his words.

"Like I said...we'll see how you behave," Jensen said, pressing the elevator button.

Jared pouted a little, but then brightened as they approached the doors. "I've been looking forward to going outside again."

Jensen laughed. "Don't doubt it," he said and pushed Jared out into the sunlight. "My car's just at the edge of the lot. Think you can make it that far?"

Jared levered himself out of the chair and stood tall, wincing only a little. "Have to take it a bit slow. My ribs are still a bit sore."

"We'll take it slow as you need," Jensen said, moving to Jared's side in case he needed assistance.

Jared leaned more on Jensen then he needed, enjoying the way their sides pressed together. "Thanks, Jen. It means a lot that you're willing to help me out."

Jensen smiled under the thanks and hugged Jared lightly. "Any time, man. You know that."

Jared ducked his head to press a kiss to Jensen's head. "Yeah, I know. Best thing I ever knew."

Breath catching in his throat, Jensen maneuvered Jared to the car. "You need to stop anywhere on the way?"

"Probably need some food," Jared said. "Did you get rid of anything perishable?"

"Got rid of all your perishables," Jensen said with a laugh. "We should definitely stop at the store."

"Thank God," Jared said. "I had a bunch of leftover Chinese, didn't I? That would have stunk to high heaven."

Jensen climbed in the car and started it up. "Yeah, your entire fridge would have been off limits." He pulled them away from the hospital and headed toward Jared's place, figuring they could stop at the Trader Joe's in his neighborhood.

"My entire house might have been off limits," Jared said. He put a hand on Jensen's right thigh and squeezed.

Startling, Jensen looked at Jared and then smiled almost shyly. "Couldn't have that, could we?" he asked softly.

"Well, I guess I could have stayed with you, while my place aired out," Jared said. 

"True, I have room...even for a sasquatch like you," Jensen teased, sparking Jared a quick glance before turning right at the next street.

"You're not exactly little yourself," Jared said with an approving glance over Jensen's body. "I have a California King, though."

Jensen laughed. "And I have a couple of guest rooms." He flicked a glance and a smirk at Jared. "And a California King myself."

"I'll move in with you, then," Jared said. "Mister Fancy-Pants. Take me to your home."

"Yeah?" Jensen asked. It'd certainly be easier on him to be around all his stuff, but he didn't want to put Jared out any more than he'd already had to endure with a week in the hospital. "We can get your dogs if you want."

"I was kidding," Jared said, "but it's kind of you to offer. I should go home and settle back in. You don't really have to stay with me. I can take care of myself, with a little help. Not ready for my dogs yet. They'll run all over me."

Jensen arched an eyebrow. "Not going to leave you alone; not on the first night anyway. You still need to eat and stuff."

"I need to eat a lot," Jared said, putting a hand on his stomach. "No food and then hospital food left my stomach wanting." He dropped the hand back to Jensen's leg and squeezed again. "Thank you for being willing to help me. I do want you to stay. I just don't want to presume. And I was joking about invading your place."

"Yeah, but I took a couple of days for you, so you know," Jensen said, with another quick look and a slight flush to his cheeks.

"Oh, yeah," Jared said and then beamed. "You really want to stay with me, Jen?"

Jensen nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Want to make sure you're okay...that you get settled in."

"Then, please take me home, Jensen. Did you bring your clothes?" Jared asked.

"There's a bag in the trunk," Jensen admitted quietly, cheeks flushing brighter. "You know, just in case." He turned left at the next light and then right again into the grocery store parking lot. "You want to come in or just give me a list?"

Jared looked at the grocery store, which was one of his favorite places, cause food, and then considered his own condition. "I'd like to go in with you."

Jensen nodded. "Okay then, let's get some food for your place." He opened the car door and moved around to Jared's side to be there in case he needed someone to lean on.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jared leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh, one hand cupping his full stomach. "Damn, you really can cook, Jen. That was the best meal I've had since I last saw my momma." 

Jensen blushed and laughed off the compliment. "Had to figure out how to feed myself." He gathered up the dishes and then nodded toward the living room. "Get comfy, and I'll bring in your meds."

"Thanks, Jen," Jared said and moved to the living room to collapse on the couch. Honestly, he was feeling more then a bit worn around the edges. "Guess when I'm well, we can divide the work- you cook, I wash."

"Sounds fair to me," Jensen called back to Jared before loading the dishwasher. He got himself a beer and Jared a large glass of water, along with a handful of pills to fight infection. Putting Jared's stuff in reach on the table next to him, Jensen moved and dropped lightly down onto the other end of the couch. "Want to watch anything in particular?"

"Baseball!" Jared said. "Go Rangers!"

Jensen rolled his eyes at Jared, but grabbed the remote and flipped on the game so that Jared could watch. He paid minimal amount of attention, interspersing it with sneaking glances at Jared's profile.

Jared gave Jensen a baleful glance. "Why are you all the way over there?" He patted the cushions next to him.

Arching an eyebrow, Jensen scooted a bit closer and sipped at his beer. "You take your pills yet? Supposed to do it on a full stomach."

"Yes, dear," Jared said and swallowed down his pills dutifully. "Want to make sure I swallowed?"

Jensen snorted. "No, I think I can trust in that." 

"I think you should be even closer," Jared said and reached out to tug Jensen next to him.

Tipping slightly, Jensen lifted an eyebrow and then rearranged himself again...far closer than he thought wise. "This good?"

Jared threw an arm over Jensen's shoulders and maneuvered himself to lean against him. "Not bad. You need to relax a little."

"I'll be more comfortable once you've been home a few days," Jensen admitted.

"We're safe now," Jared said. "Bachmann is in jail, and his gang will be broken. What do we have to worry about now?"

Jensen laughed hoarsely. "They did a number on you, Jay," he said. "Just want to know you're going to mend well."

"With some rest and your help, I'll be fine, Jen," Jared said. He made a little shuffle closer and sighed contentedly. "Even better, if you agree to date me."

"What?" Jensen asked, pulling back abruptly, though he reached out to steady Jared.

Jared jerked a little as Jensen pulled away and then blinked at him. "I'm asking you out, partner," he said, more cautiously.

Jensen blinked at Jared, gaping silently. He sucked in a deep breath and backed off a little. "Why?"

"Cause I like you?" Jared said in the form of a question.

"How?" Jensen asked. "I've been horrible to you." He wanted this, had realized while Jared lay in his hospital bed just how much he wanted his partner to love him back. But he didn't know how to handle the possibility that he might.

"In the beginning," Jared said, "but you learned and changed. And now that I understand everything, I know why you acted like you did. But beyond being handsome to the point of ridiculousness, you're funny and smart, as well as also capable of great kindness.”

Jensen shook his head, eyes still wide in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm beginning to think this is the worst refusal ever, but I do know what I want," Jared said. "Now, if you're not interested, I'll be disappointed, but understanding."

Jensen hesitated and stared at Jared for a brief moment, before leaning forward and pressing their mouths together.

Jared threw his arms around Jensen, ignoring the flare of pain, and kissed him enthusiastically. He wanted to encourage the response, show Jensen that he meant it. 

Tilting his head, Jensen opened his mouth on moan. He clasped Jared to him and swept his tongue inside to tease and map every inch.

"Mmmm," Jared hummed and pulled back. "So, that's a yes then?"

"Yes," Jensen whispered. "Fuck, yes. I didn't dream you'd want me."

"Really?" Jared asked, astonished. "I never would have guessed. I thought I was taking a chance, asking you."

Jensen blew out a breath, sitting back, but not letting go. "I didn't realize, not until you were in surgery." He shrugged and ducked his head. "I just suddenly knew that you were more."

Jared leaned in to kiss him softly. "We still have a lot to learn about each other. I'm big and loud and energetic and totally a fan of hugs in public."

"I'm grumpy in the mornings, drink far too much caffeine and have the unfortunate habit of being mean when I'm scared," Jensen said, knowing that Jared was well aware of most of that already.

"I'll try not to wake you when I go for my morning jogs," Jared said. "And I make a mean cup of coffee. I've got some special beans I may try on you."

Jensen groaned. "That is a way to keep me happy," he laughed. "No runs for you until after your next appointment."

Jared made a face and said, "Fine, fine. I don't really want to end up permanently injured. Are you always a mother hen?"

"Pretty much," Jensen said with a grin before tugging Jared in closer and licking over his lower lip.

Jared contemplated a little and then said, "I guess I can get used to it."

"You just need to get better and _never_ give me a reason to hover ever again," Jensen said before kissing Jared deeply.

Jared cradled Jensen close and enjoyed the long, slow kiss. "You can kiss. Bet you can do other things with that mouth, too."

Jensen blushed and then nipped at Jared's lips. "I can do all kinds of things...once you've had your next check up."

"My dislike of Bachmann increases," Jared muttered. "I don’t want to wait."

"And I refuse to hurt you," Jensen said, leaning in for another kiss.

Jared allowed himself to be distracted momentarily by the kiss and then nipped Jensen's nose. "You're not going to hurt me, Jen."

Jensen snorted. "You have no idea how badly I can hurt people, Jared. It's something I have to work on."

"Why would you hurt me?" Jared asked, tucking himself against Jensen with a contented sigh.

"Wouldn't mean to, but Jay, I can be a real asshole," Jensen said. "Not just grumpy, but a real bastard."

"I guess I'll have to deal with that when it comes," Jared said. "Were you always like that?"

Jensen shook his head and stared at Jared. "No, not always. But since Danny, it's been my default setting."

Jared thumbed over Jensen's cheek and asked, "He really hurt you, didn't he?"

"Jay," Jensen whispered, pain evident in his eyes. "He cheated on me, with a gangster and his allies, no less, before trying to implicate and kill me. And I had no idea until I was staring down his gun."

Jared kissed Jensen softly and then pressed more gentle kisses to his face and neck, holding him reverently. "I'm here, Jen. You're stuck with me. I'll stay until you're sure of me." 

Jensen sighed and then settled back on the couch next to Jared. He rested his head on Jared's shoulder and then tangled the fingers of one set of their hands together. "Can we just sit here? I want to know you're fine."

"Yeah, of course," Jared said and wrapped his arms tight around Jensen. "Whatever you want."

Snuggling in, Jensen closed his eyes to soak in the way that Jared held him. It felt like Jared would never let him go. Jensen could only hope that was the truth.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Jensen shook Cabot's hand while they stood at the door. "Glad you could make it," he said, reaching to press a kiss to his wife's cheek. "You, too, Maggie. It's always a pleasure to see you." He stepped back, leaning into Jared's hand on his lower back.

Jared held out his own hand to Cabot and his wife. "We should do this again, soon," he said. "It's always fun."

Larry laughed and shook Jared's hand. "You've done a good thing taming Ackles here," he teased, tucking his wife in at his side even as she poked him in his side and admonished him to behave.

"I assure you, he's only tame in public," Jared said with a wink and a grin. His dimples deepened when Maggie laughed.

Jensen laughed, blushing faintly and leaning into Jared. He turned his head just enough to smile and meet his eyes. "See you soon," he said and waved the Cabots out of their house.

Jared smiled as the last of their guests got in their car and drove off. "So, another successful Ackles-Padalecki BBQ comes to an end."

"I love the sound of that," Jensen said, turning in Jared's embrace and wrapping his arms around Jared's shoulders for a kiss. "So glad I convinced you to move in with me."

"Your place really is better than mine," Jared said. "I wasn't exactly hard to persuade."

Jensen laughed. "No, you really weren't, but then I figured there was more to it than just the house."

"Well, there might have been a green-eyed detective with a really nice ass in the equation, too," Jared said.

"Oh you like my ass?" Jensen asked, teasing. "Just glad you said yes."

Jared swatted said ass with a rumble. "It's a pretty sweet ass. And you didn't really doubt I would, did you? I'm pretty much gone for you."

Jensen laughed and arched up, biting Jared's lower lip and sinking his hands into Jared's hair. "Oh no, I figured you'd be happy to move in and avail yourself of my ass at any time."

Jared scooped Jensen into his arms for a kiss, hands planted firmly on said ass. He massaged the firm globes as he explored Jensen's mouth with a questing tongue.

Humming, Jensen tipped his head so Jared could bite at his throat while he rocked his hips into Jared's.

"Always up for a little post-party fun, aren't you?" Jared purred. "We should clean up first, huh?" He set Jensen down and teasingly began to walk away.

"You can clean up if you want," Jensen said, pulling his shirt off over his head and dropping it on the ground. "I'll just get started without you."

"Ooh, strip club!" Jared yelled. "Take 'em all off, cowboy!"

Jensen looked at Jared over his shoulder and grinned. He shook his ass and then unbuttoned his jeans so he could shimmy them down. "You wanna see more, you gotta pay, cowboy."

"And just what kind of payment do you take, sugar?" Jared drawled, ambling his way closer.

"Well let's see what you got," Jensen purred. "I'm always willing to talk trade."

"Hmm, trade has always been underrated," Jared said. He removed his own shirt with a flourish and tossed it to the side.

Jensen moaned. "Oh yeah. Now, that is _definitely_ my idea of trade." He turned and lowered the zipper on his jeans and then kicked them all the way off.

Jared took up a fake striptease, showing off his muscles and shaking his ass. He bumped and ground all over the room, before knocking hips with Jensen.

Once Jared was close enough, Jensen wrapped his arms around his lover's shoulders and pulled him close. "Love you, Jared," he said. "Forget about cleaning and take me to bed."

Jared lifted Jensen into his arms and snuggled him close. "Forgotten. Bed awaits."

"Good," Jensen said, pressing himself up against Jared's body and writhing against him.

Jared laughed a little at the sheer enthusiasm of his lover. He soon joined in, however, removing Jensen's boxers, so he was nude against Jared's half-clothed form. 

Jensen tangled his hands in Jared's hair. "Bed now?"

Jared nipped at Jensen's lower lip and tugged it lightly. He carefully set Jensen down and led him toward the bedroom. "Bed now."

Tangling their hands together, Jensen let himself be led to their bedroom. He released Jared's hand once they were inside and turned to flop down onto the bed. He propped himself up on his elbows and spread his thighs wide.

Jared removed his jeans and boxers, tossing them into the corner. He jumped on the bed and crawled up to loom over Jensen. "Hello there, sweetheart," he said in a hokey tone.

"Hey, cowboy," Jensen drawled, planting one foot on the bed to cradle Jared's hips into his own.

Jared pressed against Jensen, cock-to-cock, and thrust against him. "Mmm, want to have a rodeo?"

Jensen snorted and then laughed loud and long. "Only ever with you, Jay." He lifted his head and kissed Jared thoroughly.

Jared kissed him back and pressed them as close together as they could get. "Same here, Jen. I'm a one-man man."

"I'm a Jared Padalecki-man," Jensen said, lifting both legs and wrapping them around Jared.

"And what do you want of your man today?" Jared asked with a leer. He trailed both hands up Jensen's legs and then back down, every move sensual.

Jensen grinned, arching his back to thrust his hips into Jared. "I want you inside me, Jay."

Jared growled under his breath and nearly tackled Jensen into the bed. "Fuck, yeah."

Wrapping his arms around Jared's shoulders, Jensen pulled him down into a deep and thorough kiss. "Need you naked. Now."

"Warming lube?" Jared asked. "Or the flavored one?"

"Flavored if you want to eat me out," Jensen said, shivering with desire.

"I always love eating you out," Jared said and then hummed under his breath. "Vanilla. Chocolate sundae. Banana. Strawberry. Pina colada. Oh, the choices."

Jensen snorted and shook his head. "If you want me to do any eating, I want the pina colada."

"Ooh," Jared said and grabbed a pina colada packet. "I do love shared flavors. Next time, we're going sundae, though."

Jensen laughed. "Yeah, okay, if you really want."

Jared beamed and kissed Jensen, both hot and playfully. "I love that we have fun in bed, too."

"Having fun in bed is pretty much the point, isn't it?" Jensen teased, going in for another deep kiss.

Jared rolled them on their sides and caressed his ass and back. "Well, sex should be pleasurable, but if it can be fun, too, that's even better."

"Well yes, but I didn't say sex, I said in bed. There's so much more to having fun in bed than just sex," Jensen teased back, writhing into Jared's hands.

"I know, that's part of what I mean, too," Jared said and then attacked Jensen's sides in a fit of tickling.

Laughing, Jensen did his best to fight off Jared without actually fighting him. He hated being tickled, though with Jared it was more of just an uncomfortable feeling. "Stop," he gasped, managing to get one of Jared's hands in his own.

Jared stopped, knowing Jensen would only take so much tickling, and then blew raspberries all the way down his chest and stomach. "I love you, Jen."

"Love you," Jensen said easily, tangling a hand in Jared's hair.

Jared blew a warm breath of air over Jensen's cock and then pressed a kiss to the tip. "You're pretty hot, too. That helps."

Jensen snorted and shook his head at Jared. "Yeah?" he asked on a shaky breath. "You wouldn't like me so much if I wasn't hot?"

"Don't be stupid," Jared said. "It's like extra frosting on an already awesome cake." He swallowed down saliva. "Can I smear you in frosting some time?"

"I suppose if you really wanted to cover me in frosting, that's something we can do," Jensen said, stroking Jared’s head and back.

"And ice cream." Jared said with a smile and lick of his lips. He ducked his head and took Jensen right into his mouth.

Any response Jensen had to the ice cream topic went directly out the window in the wet heat of Jared's mouth. "Fuck," he moaned, arching up slightly and twisting his fingers in Jared's hair.

"Mmm, you don't need pina colada to taste good," Jared said. "Just natural." He slid right down over Jensen's cock again and sucked even harder.

Jensen moaned, dropping one hand to fist in the sheets while he carefully rolled his hips up into Jared's face. "Fuck, so good."

Jared lightly scraped his teeth over the tip and more aggressively flicked his tongue over the bundle of nerves. He pulled off with a pop and then licked over the slit. "Maybe a little salty."

"Jesus, Jay," Jensen groaned. "You're determined to torture me, aren't you?"

"You want me to finish by sucking you off or fucking you into coming?" Jared asked with a wicked grin, accompanied by the lightest lick to Jensen's balls. 

"Both," Jensen said with a laugh.

"Greedy," Jared said and licked down the length of Jensen's cock. He nibbled over his balls and then chewed on them lightly.

Jensen snorted. "It's like you don't know me," he teased. "Asking me to choose between your mouth and your dick."

"Well, I only wish I were flexible enough to suck and fuck you at the same time," Jared said. "But then I'd also have to be shorter and that would be terrible." He ripped open his lube packet and squeezed it out over his fingers. As he started to suck again, he slipped a finger inside Jensen.

"No shorter," Jensen moaned, writhing between Jared's fingers and his mouth. "Fuck, love you just like you are."

"Mmmhmm," Jared hummed around his mouthful and bobbed his head slowly. He pressed a second finger inside and slid it all the way to the knuckle.

Jensen tipped his head back on the bed, moaning and rocking his hips back and forth. "Fuck, Jay, c'mon need you, please."

Jared twisted his fingers in a circle, making sure Jensen was loose enough. He tossed the lube toward Jensen and sat up to allow him access.

Grabbing the lube, Jensen flicked open the tube and poured it into his palm, before curling his fist around Jared's cock and spreading it all over. He teased and twisted his fist a few times to get Jared as close as he was, before he fell back and spread his thighs even wider.

"Oh fuck," Jared gasped and braced himself for a moment. "Fuck, so close. Evil fingers you have, Jen."

"Turnabout is fair play," Jensen said, chuckling and bringing his heels up to his ass. "Now, fuck me, please."

Jared grinned and pressed in to Jensen so deep and fast that his eyes rolled in his head. "Jesus, fuck, you're so hot."

Jensen wrapped his legs around Jared's hips and arched his back. "Jesus," he groaned. "So fucking good."

"Can't help but be good with you," Jared murmured.

"Yeah," Jensen moaned in agreement. 

Jared found their rhythm easily; he had plenty of practice. Since Jensen accepted that Jared really wanted him, he had become a demanding lover, eclipsing even Jared's sex drive. Not that he was complaining. Jensen was easily the best lover of Jared's life.

Jensen moved with each of Jared's thrusts, body arching and pressing in closer and closer. "Fuck, Jay," he moaned, body on edge already.

"Yeah, Jen," Jared answered his moan. "C'mon, baby."

"More," Jensen moaned, arching his back and pulling his legs up higher. "Fuck, Jay, need more, please."

Jared threw his body into harder thrusts, glad they had placed their bed away from the wall. He braced himself so that all his weight did not land on Jensen. 

Jensen moaned and dug his fingers into Jared's shoulders. He continued to arch into each and every thrust.  
Jared reached around and stroked Jensen in time with his thrusts. He wanted them to go together and felt his own release coming.

"Oh, fuck, Jay," Jensen moaned, body going taut beneath his lover. He felt his orgasm rushing on.

"Yes!" Jared called out in release, pumping Jensen full of seed. He loved the freedom of not needing a condom, of being completely naked with his lover.

Jensen cried out as he came right after Jared, come spurting between them and landing on their chests. He dragged his hands down Jared's back to keep him buried as deeply as possible.

Jared caught Jensen's mouth for a long kiss, hands cupping Jensen's face tenderly. His hips jerked on a few last spurts.

Opening his mouth to Jared, Jensen melted into the kiss. He rocked his hips up lazily and tightened around Jared to keep him pulsing into Jensen's ass.

When all the aftershocks finally eased away, Jared carefully pulled out of Jensen. He kissed over Jensen's face and then smiled easily at his lover. "Hey, you."

Jensen tugged Jared to the bed beside him and then curled himself around Jared's body. "Hey back," he whispered, head nestled under Jared's chin.

"Happy?" Jared asked, caressing Jensen's body with gentle hands.

"Happier than I thought possible," Jensen said, curling in even tighter.

Jared smiled and hugged Jensen gently. "Good. You deserve it. The past is where it belongs. It'll never come back."

Jensen chuckled. "Can't say it'll never come back. But even if it does, it can't ever do anything to us."  
"Well, that's the important thing," Jared said. "As long as we're together and secure. I'd never deliberately hurt you.”

"I know," Jensen said, kissing Jared. "I trust you."

"That's good," Jared said and tugged lightly at Jensen's messy hair. "How about a bath? We can clean up the house tomorrow."

Jensen hummed. "A real bath? In our jacuzzi tub? Not a shower?" 

"Exactly," Jared said. "Give me more opportunities to grope you." He kissed Jensen and then began to wiggle away from him.

"Hmmm, I like the sound of that," Jensen said, rolling to the side and curling up on the covers to watch Jared.

"Hoped you would," Jared said, shaking his ass playfully at Jensen. He headed to the bathroom to get their bath started. "Coming?"

Jensen huffed a laugh. "Oh, I suppose," he drawled before dragging himself up from the bed to follow Jared into their bathroom.


End file.
